Finmin Gaspar to meet EU, IMF representatives

LISBON: Portugal's new finance minister Vitor Gaspar will meet representatives of the EU, IMF and European Central Bank monitoring its international bailout in his first day in office on Tuesday.

The majority government of the centre-right Social Democrats (PSD) and the rightist CDS-PP officially takes power at 1100 GMT on Tuesday, replacing the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who resigned in March and lost a June 5 general election.

The government spokesman did not provide a time for the meeting or details on which officials from the "troika" would attend.

Socrates' government in April agreed a 78-billion-euro bailout with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which the PSD and CDS-PP also backed.

The new coalition government will have to implement rapidly the tough austerity measures under the terms of the bailout programme, which include across-the-board tax hikes, steep spending cuts and structural reforms.

Under the programme, Portugal has to cut its budget deficit to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year from 2010's 9.1 percent and then to 4.5 percent in 2012, with the economy expected to contract 2 percent both this year and next.

Copyright Reuters, 2011