BRUSSELS (MNI) – Curbing debts in the 16 Eurozone countries will
impact growth in the short-term but is necessary in the longer-term,
Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said Wednesday.
“We have to be honest that in the short term the measures are going
to have an impact on growth,” Salgado told members of the European
Parliament in Strasbourg.
“It is a tug of war, you can’t have it both ways,” she explained.
“Growth would be reduced even more if you also have to pay exorbitant
interest (on sovereign debts).”
“Yes in the short term there will be an impact on growth, that is
true, but it would be irresponsible to turn our backs on the market and
go blithely ahead increasing our debts,” Salgado, who currently holds
the rotating presidency of the European Union, said.
“Deficit reduction is becoming a priority,” she said.
She said the 16 Eurozone countries don’t have much “wriggle room”
with regard to their debt situations.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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