Guindos recognized that the next Government must take measures to meet deficit – Yahoo Finance Spain

MADRID (Reuters) – The Economy minister on functions, Luis de Guindos, warned on Tuesday that the next Government of Spain should take measures to adjust the public deficit in 2017 that will be in breach initially the target set by Brussels, although he said that the country will meet its budget target this year.

“The deficit will be higher than the 3.1 percent of GDP in 2017) that is our commitment. And when there is a new government, if there is a new government, will have to take the appropriate measures”, said De Guindos in statements prior to a meeting of the Finance ministers of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Brussels has been marked Spain the goal of closing this year with a public deficit of 4.6 percent of Gross domestic Product (GDP) and of 3.1 percent of GDP in 2017.

De Guindos said on Tuesday that Spain would meet a deficit of 4.4 percent of GDP this year, to be supplemented by two-tenths by the aid of the Spanish financial sector.

The Spanish government, in office since nine months ago, should be sent to Brussels before the next Saturday a draft budget for 2017, although in practice you can only extend the budget of 2016 updated macroeconomic projections, which implies not to include more measures of economic policy.

De Guindos as was recently suggested that Spain would not be fulfilling its deficit target in 2017, waiting for the next Friday, the Government finalized a number that “will not be very far away” from the 3.1 per cent agreed.

The lack of a new government after two elections in less than a year has prevented the preparation of the budgets for 2017 and the adoption of cost-saving measures beyond a modification of the corporate income tax for advance payments.

The declarations of the Spanish minister occur on the same day in which the Royal House announced a new round of consultations to try to form a Government.

the day before, The head of the finance ministers of the euro zone, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, warned Spain that you should be careful with the numbers that you put in the draft of its budget for 2017, because the quality of their estimates in the past has been poor.

Spain was saved in the summer of being fined for exceeding the limit of deficit for several years, and not to carry out actions to reduce it, as required by the european legislation.