Lisbon tries to please the IMF

"Sócrates to bring IMF proposals to Brussels ", headlines Diário de Notícias, on the day a team of experts from Washington landed in the Portuguese capital for the second time in a month and a half. IMF sources confirmed the experts are there to discuss “structural reforms” but that the visit also coincides with the annual review of EU member states. Later today, the government is to present a series of measures “to support companies and to get a more flexible labor market.” The Lisbon daily notes that, “Most of them coincide with proposals made by the experts of the International Monetary Fund” and will include a review of labour laws and unemployment benefit. The IMF-inspired plan is to be a “trump card” played by the Portuguese government on its way to the European Council on December 16 and 17, in Brussels, although one source argues to the daily that, "The government is trying to cut corners, hoping to prevent the IMF’s entry into Portugal."