Spanje en het Verenigd Koninkrijk nemen bezuinigings- en hervormingsmaatregelen ondanks Amerikaanse twijfels (en)
The UK government announced its toughest budget in a generation on Tuesday (22 June), while the Spanish parliament approved a package of labour market reforms it says will reduce the country's high level of unemployment.
At the same time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel i on Tuesday said she had spoken with US President Barack Obama i, telling him that Europe would push ahead with its austerity plans, despite US concerns this could slow global growth.
"Yesterday, during a phone call with Barack Obama, I told him how important budgetary consolidation was," Ms Merkel said, an indication of the division that has opened up ahead of this weekend's G20 leaders' meeting in Toronto.
Non-eurozone Britain was the latest country to jump on the European austerity bandwagon on Tuesday, with chancellor George Osborne outlining drastic cuts of 25 percent for most government departments by 2014-15.
The emergency budget also raised the rate of value added tax from next January to 20 percent and imposed a £2 billion levy on banks.
In a nod to his Liberal coalition partners, Conservative Mr Osborne raised income tax allowances by £1,000, taking almost a million low earners out of the income tax system. Increases to the basic state pension were also announced.
But taken together, the collection of tough spending cuts is forecast to cost thousands of jobs in the short-term, with Labour accusing the Lib Dems of being accomplices to a "raid on the poor."
"Will it cost our coalition some popularity? Possibly," Prime Minister David Cameron i said in defence of the budget. "But is this the right thing to do - for the health of the economy, for the poorest in our society, for the future of our country? I passionately believe it is."
Spain
In Spain, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero i managed to get his government's package of labour reforms through parliament, but only on the basis that further amendments can be made in the coming months.
The level of general dissatisfaction with the plans was highlighted by the huge abstention rate, with 168 MPs supporting the package, 173 abstaining and eight deputies opposing the plans.
Members of the two biggest opposition parties, the Popular Party (PP) and Catalan nationalist party (CIU), abstained, while Socialists largely voted to support their leader.
The measures aim to reduce the country's high unemployment rate, currently hovering around the 20 percent mark, by making it less expensive for employers to fire workers if needs be.
Some economists suggest this will make companies less reluctant to take on new full-contract employees, with the use of temporary contracts that have few benefits currently widespread in Spain.
At present, workers on full contracts are entitled to severance pay of up to 45 days per year worked, one of the highest levels in Europe, but this would be cut to 33 days for some contracts under the reforms.
The country's unions are opposed to the planned measures, which come on top of a package of government spending cuts announced last month.
A general strike is planned for 29 September as a sign of protest.
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