Portugal denies pressure from ECB to accept bailout

The Portuguese government has said it is under no pressure from the ECB or other eurozone member states to accept financial aid to ease its debt and deficit problems.

The prime minister's office said a report to this effect in today's Financial Times Deutschland was "totally false".

The newspaper quotes a German finance ministery spokesperon as saying if Portugal were to tap the fund, it would help Spain because the country has high exposure in Portugal.