The debate begins today, at 3 pm, with a speech by the Prime Minister, on an afternoon when the document is scheduled for 249 minutes of discussion, although parties may move up or postpone part of the time until Tuesday, October 28th.

The first round of requests for clarification, with individual responses, begins with the largest opposition party (Chega), followed by the other political parties, in descending order, with a maximum of five minutes.

The discussion continues on Tuesday, 28 October, with plenary sessions scheduled for 10 am and 3 pm.

A new schedule is available for this day, with over four hours of debate and 109 minutes for the closing phase, with speeches from all parties and the Government, followed by a vote. The favourable vote of the government-supporting parties, the PSD and CDS-PP, and the announced abstention of the PS ensure the document's approval at this stage, with the vote of the second-largest parliamentary party, Chega, still unknown.

On Sunday, 26 October, the PCP promised a "firm fight" against the 2026 State Budget proposal, accusing the PSD, CDS-PP, Chega, IL, and PS of not caring about the country.

On the same day, the BE announced that it would vote against the proposal, and the PAN announced that it would abstain, "as a sign of openness to dialogue."

Sustainability of the plan

However, the Public Finance Council (CFP) raised doubts about the sustainability and achievement of the 0.1% surplus forecast in the 2026 State Budget, warning that it is supported by specific measures and extraordinary revenues. In Brussels, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro argued that the government he leads "cannot be accused of lacking credibility in financial matters" and emphasized that, on several occasions, he has faced "pessimism and disbelief from national and international entities," calling for subsequent results to be verified.

"All goals were not only met but exceeded (...) The credibility we have to date is very high, and I hope the government does not lose it," he said.

Forgotten Issues

The government's 2026 State Budget proposal left out more controversial issues, such as labor law and social security, which were discussed separately in parliament, a requirement of the Socialist Party (PS) to make the budget viable at this stage.

After the general vote, the detailed review will begin on Wednesday, October 29, in the Committee on Budget, Finance, and Public Administration (COFAP), with hearings with all ministers and also with some institutions and bodies such as the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Council, and the CFP.

The hearings end on November 7th, which also marks the deadline for parties to submit their proposed amendments to the document.

This will then be followed, from November 20th to 26th, by plenary discussion in the morning and votes at the COFAP in the afternoon, with the closing and final overall vote scheduled for the 27th.

The government forecasts Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 2% this year and 2.3% in 2026 and aims to achieve surpluses of 0.3% of GDP in 2025 and 0.1% in 2026. Regarding the debt ratio, it estimates a reduction to 90.2% of GDP in 2025 and 87.8% in 2026.