BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission could go easy on Spain’s
failure to meet fiscal targets by recognising the exceptional nature of
certain expenses liked to Madrid’s bank rescue plan, a spokesman for the
European Commission hinted on Monday.
“The European Commission recognises the exceptional and one-off
nature” of the losses incurred by banks recently nationalised by Madrid,
the spokesman said.
“Our assessment of whether a member state has taken effective
action to address its fiscal deficit focuses primarily on compliance
with the structural fiscal efforts that were agreed with member states,
not only on the nominal targets of a members state,” he said.
In its 2013 budget plan at the start of this month, the Spanish
government estimated that national support for the country’s troubled
banks will increase the budget deficit to around 7.4% of GDP this year,
above the target of 6.3% of GDP for 2012 it has promised its EU
partners.
The government also raised its estimate of last year’s budget
deficit to 9.44% of GDP from 8.96% of GDP to take into account measures
to help its banks.
Madrid said that if the effect of measures to help banks were
excluded, it would meet its EU commitment.
–Brussels Newsroom, +324-952-28374; pkoh@mni-news.com
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