Troika to assess Portugal progress for first time since end of bailout

The troika of international lenders is going to visit Portugal for the first time since the debt-laden country concluded its bailout program, Portuguese Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday.

The first post-program evaluation will run in the second half of October this year, after the state budget for 2015 is sent to parliament, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the date of the troika mission will be released "in due course."

Portugal signed a 78-billion-euro bailout program with the troika -- the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank -- in 2011, and officially ended it in May this year with a "clean exit" -- without a credit line. However the ministry said the troika still maintains "post-bailout monitoring procedures," including review missions in Portugal.

Portugal is attempting to cut its budget deficit from 4.9 percent of the gross domestic product in 2013 to 4 percent this year and 2.5 percent next year. It also has to continue to implement harsh austerity, including tax hikes and spending cuts in order to meet those targets set by the troika.

The current ruling coalition in the country has been under increasing pressure from the opposition who has been accusing the troika and the government of throwing the country into a recessive spiral and calling for a swap of austerity for growth-orientated policies.

The troika's regular review missions are expected to last until at least 2030 when Portugal returns a considerable part of international financial loans, according to local media.

Under European laws, a country that has ended its bailout program remains under supervision until it pays at least 75 percent of the loans.