Wednesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said it stands ready to support the Portuguese authorities in their efforts to bring down budget deficit under the EU ceiling.

The Paris-based OECD said Portugal's austerity measures would help to maintain market confidence, support growth and ensure fiscal sustainability.

It said efforts to make the tax system more broad-based and to minimize any negative impact of fiscal consolidation on potential economic growth are welcomed.

On Monday, the Portuguese authorities unveiled a combination of expenditure restraint and revenue-raising initiatives to bring the budget deficit below 3% of GDP by 2013 from 9.3% of GDP in 2009.

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