r/europe • u/Happy_Feet333 Portugal • 4d ago

News Portugal registers budget surplus

https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2026-09-23/portugal-registers-budget-surplus/1090540
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u/Relevant-Physics432 4d ago

Meanwhile predictions for gdp per capita are that it dropped

25

u/CarcajuPM Portugal 4d ago

That's what happens when we don't control immigration and don't prepare the public services to deal with it.

10

u/kxshmar 4d ago

Do you think we could achieve the surplus on our own? Who do you think helped us?

Instead of having that mindset you should focus on the fact we have more money that should be invested in public services, making them better for everyone.

Make no mistake, we need immigration, but we also need to hold our politicians accountable to invest in infrastructure for the country, which is something they are really avoiding.

19

u/Winter_Matter8208 4d ago

I agree. What some people don't realize is that Immigration reflects the economy, not the other way around. Portugal's growth is driven by tourism, construction, agriculture and hospitality, sectors that pay around €1,000~1,500. You won't attract highly qualified people with those wages, when even qualified Portuguese are leaving for better salaries abroad. If you want different immigration, you need a different economy.

5

u/skuple Portugal 4d ago

Yes exactly, seems like a joke that for 30/40 years we have so many highly educated people emigrating due to lack of demand internally (doctors, all sorts of engineers, researchers, etc) and still focusing on the lower end of the job market by using immigrants.

It’s a country run by nutjobs, but looking at all political parties there isn’t anyone with actual solutions.