Portugal's government Monday approved a strategic budget plan for the next four years, which includes spending limits and, as expected, commits to stringent budget deficit targets for next year.

Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar said there weren't any surprises in the government's forecasts in the document, which must be given to the European Commission on Monday as part of a European Union-wide requirement.

Portugal must show its EU partners that it is committed to fiscal and structural reforms to make its economy more competitive.

The Portuguese government has committed to cutting the primary spending limit by 3.2% in 2013 and the overall spending by 2.1%.

Mr. Gaspar said in a press conference that Portugal should become less reliant on outside funding over the next few years, reaching a structural budget deficit of 0.5% of gross domestic product in both 2015 and 2016.

The economy is expected to contract 3.3% this year; it should start to grow slightly next year and expand about 2.5% by 2016, he said.

The eurozone must stick to its austerity-led recovery plan, Germany's finance minister insisted on Monday, signalling Berlin's limited appetite for the more growth-oriented policies advocated by some other European leaders.

Wolfgang Schäuble said the only way to achieve the economic growth that was needed in the region was to continue to rein in budget deficits and pay down debt, praising the tough new Spanish budget - which contains €27bn in new taxes and spending cuts - as an example.

"The first precondition in order to have sustainable growth everywhere in Europe is fiscal consolidation," Mr Schäuble said at a press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Luis de Guindos. "If now we talk about growth, it shouldn't be understood as a change of direction. That would be a mistake."

Mr Schäuble's remarks, following similar comments from Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, come despite the recent political upheaval in France, Greece and the Netherlands, where strong polling from eurosceptic populists has forced political leaders to confront growing voter anger towards austerity measures.

pain has joined seven other euro-zone economies in recession, according to data released Monday, providing further evidence that austerity policies are failing to regenerate confidence in the region's economies and heightening pressure on the government as the country braces for a week of antiausterity protests.

Almost every piece of new economic data in recent weeks has reinforced the impression that large swaths of the European economy are contracting. Among the 17 nations of the euro zone, Spain joined Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia in recession, when defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.