Spain to get more time to reach budget goal

Europe will grant Spain an extra year to reach its deficit targets after it outlines further budget savings to finance ministers meeting in Brussels, diplomats said Monday. Although no final decision is expected at a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers for a bailout of Spain’s banks, a wider gathering of EU finance chiefs Tuesday is set to ease a debt goal that has pressured Madrid to make punishing cuts that are exacerbating a recession. Spanish and Italian borrowing costs continued to rise Monday toward levels considered unsustainable in the long term as investors saw little chance of a respite in the eurozone’s debt crisis from the Brussels meetings. “Spain’s budget consolidation targets will be adjusted to give it an extra year,” said one of the diplomats. “This is not a unilateral move. Spain needs to make the necessary cuts to reach that goal and this will be discussed Tuesday at the Ecofin [meeting of ministers]. I expect the extra year to be granted.” The European Commission will propose easing Madrid’s deficit goal for this year to 6.3 percent of economic output, 4.5 percent for 2013 and 2.8 percent for 2014, officials said. The new figures highlighted Spain’s dramatic fiscal slippage. Madrid was originally supposed to cut its budget shortfall to 4.4 percent this year. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unilaterally changed the target to 5.8 percent in March before eventually accepting an agreed goal of 5.3 percent. The Commission will make the new proposal Tuesday to the EU’s finance ministers, who would have to agree for the targets to become binding, two officials told Reuters. Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos will spell out at the meeting his government’s plan for a package of up to 30 billion euros ($37 billion) over several years through spending cuts and tax hikes that are due to be announced this Wednesday. A source close to the Spanish government said 10 billion euros of cuts would come this year and that the measures would include a VAT hike, reduced social security payments, reduced unemployment benefits and changes to pensions calculations. Madrid had been due to reduce its national deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2013. But a deep recession has put that beyond reach. A decision on the full details of a crucial rescue for the country’s banks is also due. A Spanish government source said it would sign a memorandum of understanding Monday in Brussels regarding the rescue, which would be followed on July 20 by a full loan agreement. As part of that, it will agree to create a single bad bank to house toxic assets from its banking sector. Spain has requested a bailout of up to 100 billion euros. While it strives to cut its debts and shore up its struggling banks, it has pleaded for help to get down its borrowing costs. Spanish 10-year government bond yields above 7 percent are not sustainable indefinitely. “At this moment the only institution that has enough money to act is the ECB,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said at a conference. “For that reason, the ECB should intervene in markets, it should start massive purchases of public debt so that speculators understand that they will lose their bets against the euro.” The European Central Bank has proved markedly reluctant to revive its bond-buying program. Alongside Spain, eurozone ministers will also be confronted with the need to decide on a new structure for cross-border banking supervision, how to use eurozone bailout money, aid to Cyprus and whether to grant concessions to Greece, which has admitted it is missing its bailout program targets. A key part of a plan agreed by eurozone leaders at a summit last month is to give the ECB a central role in the cross-border supervision of banks, which would then allow the permanent rescue fund – the European Stability Mechanism – to recapitalize banks directly instead of via governments. ECB President Mario Draghi, testifying to the European Parliament before ministers meet, called on governments to fully implement promised economic reforms and governance improvements to remove tension in financial markets. From DailyStar