Portugal has made significant progress in modernising its economy over recent years. However, the already weak potential growth is likely to have been hit by the global crisis. Besides, widening sovereign spreads, if persistent, may put the economic recovery at risk. In these circumstances, the immediate challenge is to foster investor confidence by rapidly consolidating the public finances. The next challenge is to achieve a sustained reduction in the large external deficit. More fundamentally, Portugal needs to pursue policies to move to more dynamic and sustainable growth, which would help fiscal consolidation and narrow the large income gap with wealthier OECD countries.