The authorities have undertaken a wide range of reforms to improve competitiveness and ensure faster growth to lift Portugal’s living standards. Given Portugal’s already high degree of labour utilisation, the most promising way of closing the gap in per capita income with more advanced countries more rapidly is by raising productivity growth. The enlargement of the EU opens new opportunities for Portugal, provided measures are taken to meet the competition from the newcomers. The government’s policy agenda for growth, designed against the background of the Lisbon strategy, is at different stages of implementation. It includes: ...