Portugal not to receive last tranche of international bailout

Portugal has decided not to receive the last tranche of its international bailout because it is unable to comply with the conditions set in the bailout programme on time, Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque said Thursday.

Portugal has decided not to extend the adjustment programme and would reject the last tranche worth 2.6 billion euros (or $3.52 billion) , Xinhua quoted Albuquerque as saying at a press conference.

This came after the Portugal's Constitutional Court ruled out three measures from the state budget for 2014 on May 30.

The government has not yet announced alternative measures, which had to be ready by the end of the month in order for the country to end its 12th assessment.

Albuquerque said the decision would not affect the country's credibility, claiming "all the opposite will happen".

"For the disbursement to be permitted, we would either have to announce alternative measures until the end of June, which the government understands is not adequate, or we would have to reopen the program. That would be a problem of credibility," she said.

She added that the government was still committed to the programme's targets as well as commitments beyond the program.

A source of the International Monetary Fund said that Portugal could have asked for an extension to receive the next tranche, but chose not to. He also added that a statement regarding this by the troika comprising the European Commission (EC), the IMF and the European Central Bank would be released soon.

According to Portugal's Lusa News Agency, the EC said Thursday it was not aware of any deadline for the Portuguese government to present alternative measures to replace those ruled out by the Constitution Court in the 2014 budget.

The debt-laden country has been implementing harsh austerity measures including drastic spending cuts and tax hikes to meet the targets of its 78-billion-euro bailout programme it signed with the troika in May 2011.