Debt crisis: ‘Portugal recovers some financial sovereignty’

Portugal returned to the medium and long term debt markets on January 23, taking the first step towards becoming financially self-sufficient and ending its reliance on the support of the EU-ECB-IMF troika. The government aims to raise up to €2bn through the sale of five-year government bonds.

This return to the markets was coordinated in the last 24 hours, after new figures revealed that Portugal had met its 2012 deficit targets, and after the Eurogroup granted a request for the extension of the troika’s loan terms. „In financial terms, Portugal is on the verge of turning the image that it projects internationally,“ the newspaper writes.