Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN’S finance ministry has informed the European Commission that it will miss its deficit targets.
The country has forecast its deficit to be 3.6% of GDP come the end of 2016, missing the goal of 3.1%.
It noted the country’s ensuing political deadlock, which has seen two inconclusive elections inside a year and no government for over nine months.
Brussels had let Portugal and Spain off the hook in July when it debated whether or not to impose potentially crippling fines for having a budget deficit of more than 3.0%.
It ruled that both were attempting to get their houses in order, and told them to stay on a path of ‘fiscal consolidation’.
Brussels has not yet commented on the latest forecasts, but it could see Spain face billions of euros worth of fines.
It is little wonder that so many Europeans have such deep cynicism about France
and Germany, both of whom broke the 3% Rule, in 2003. They were let off the hook.
If Spain is penalised, the rest of Europe shall surely convert their cynicism to outright distaste
for the Europe Union.
Well said. The EU makes rules that some are allowed to break – might is right. The EU allowed the totally corrupt Goldman Sachs to cook the books (for a price) for Greece and then let the ECB bail out the German and French banks who greedily lent to a known bad risk country like Greece. One shock is all it will take to destroy the Italian,German and Spanish banks, then the rule book will be discarded. The EU is a sick joke that exists only to enrich the elites and big business – this sickness is terminal, shame it can’t be given an opiate overdose to get it over quickly.