The Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has said Portugal will comply with its economic rescue programme “whatever it costs”, in response to voices calling for a renegotiation and analysts who have said the country “will fail”.

Speaking at the sidelines of a book launch in Lisbon Tuesday, Passos Coelho said “If we want to comply with what was agreed, we cannot start saying we want to renegotiate everything or need more time and more money. It will cost us a lot, there is no doubt about that, but we will comply”.

The prime minister said the country was managing positive results regarding its structural deficit and still hoped to be able to return to the money markets in 2013.

The government’s priority was “to free the Portuguese from excessive debts and deficits”, he added.

(Photography: André Kosters/Lusa)