Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was speaking to journalists in the former royal arena, next to the Palácio de Belém, in Lisbon. Asked what he expects from the budget discussion process, the head of state replied that "probably the parliament's concern will be to have a Budget flexible enough to allow it to monitor a situation that is unpredictable".

"The more flexible, the better, to keep up with the unpredictability of the situation," he defended.