During the adjustment period, conditions external to the Portuguese economy have deteriorated, with external demand falling short of initial expectations.
By way of example, a macroeconomic scenario in which external demand evolved as was expected at the start of the Programme, GDP variation would be marginally positive already in 2013, the fiscal deficit would be below 5 per cent in 2013, public debt would be stabilising and employment would be around 1.5 p.p. above that observed over the last three years (Chart 1).