- improving secondary education attainments
- improving basic education by improving teachers qualifications, increasing the curricula (e.g.
English and experimental science) and the supply of extra-curricula activities; pre-school to all
children with 5 years; - reforming higher education along with the Bologna process and increasing the percentage of
population with higher education and in particular promoting science and technologic courses.
2.4. Infrastructure
Consolidation efforts have led to a slight decline in the capital expenditure to GDP ratio^2. Nevertheless,
given the potential positive impact of this sort of expenditure on growth and the situation of Portugal in
terms of infrastructure stock, part of capital expenditure has not been affected by budgetary cuts, notably
the national co-financing of projects within the framework of EU Funds. On the other hand, PPP
contracts have been increasingly used in order to spread the impact on public accounts of some
investments over an extended number of years.
2.5. Public administration reform
Public administration reform will comprise a restructuring of central government targeting a
rationalization and improved management of central government. The reform prosecutes the double aim
of generating significant savings and enhancing the quality of provided services.
Besides, some reforms that will affect the number of civil servants and the wage bill as a new civil
servants wages and career structure (from 2007 onwards) and the continuation of a rule for new
admissions in central government. Additionally, civil servants health subsystems are being brought into
line with civil servants general health system^3.
2.6. Technological plan
This programme defines a five-year strategy aimed at improving Portuguese competitiveness. Besides
redirecting public expenditure towards R&D and reinforcing reforms in education, this plan comprises
other actions of administrative simplification and easing the access to ICT technologies.
3. Implementation and institutions
Medium-term budgetary strategy is laid down in the Stability and Growth Programmes. The main
instrument for implementation of this strategy on an annual basis is the annual budget, which is drawn up
by the Ministry of Finance. Reforms in the different expenditure areas (and also on the revenue side) are
sometimes, though not necessarily, enacted through the budget law. The updates of the Stability and
Growth Programme are drawn up by Government, and presented to Parliament, which does not have to
approve them. The budget law has to be approved by Parliament.
In recent years some improvements have been put in place regarding the way expenditure is budgeted,
notably by the introduction of spending programmes, which encompass both current and capital outlays.
The spending programmes make it possible to relate public expenditure with policy objectives and to
(^2) It should be noted that capital expenditure is recorded net in National Accounts and is therefore negatively affected by
temporary measures like sales of non-financial assets. This was the case of Portugal, for instance, in 2002. When this
happens, total capital expenditure may not properly reflect public investment effort.
(^3) Some were already integrated by 1 October 2005 (Armed Forces, Police – GNR and PSP - and Justice Ministry).