Spanje draait wellicht enkele bezuinigingsmaatregelen terug (en)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero i has said the government may reintroduce investments in some of infrastructure projects suspended as a part of austerity measures announced in May.
"The cut in infrastructure has been very sharp," Mr Zapatero said at a widely reported news conference on Tuesday (10 August) after meeting King Juan Carlo in Palma de Mallorca. "[In] 10 to 15 days we will be able to give some positive news in relation to restoring investment activity in infrastructure."
The activity should affect most regions and provide "relief, an important boost" to the construction industry.
Alleviating the cuts will be possible only if "financial stability allows some leeway in the budget for 2011," the prime minister explained, however.
He noted that the Spanish economy may not rebound as well as expected in the third quarter. "It is foreseeable that the third quarter will not be as strong as the second," Mr Zapatero said.
The Bank of Spain reported last week that Spanish GDP grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2010. Compared to the second quarter of last year, GDP fell by 0.2 percent.
The Spanish bank BBVA predicted on Monday that Spanish GDP would contract by 0.6% this year and grow 0.7% in 2011. BBVA warned the economic uncertainty which would continue in the second half of the year could imply a return to negative growth in the third quarter.
Mr Zapatero said that the austerity measures and the publication of stress tests on European banks, in which five smaller Spanish savings banks failed to make the grade, has already helped to ease market pressure on Spanish debt.
Besides a €6.4 billion cut in public sector investment announced in late June, which postponed or cancelled 231 projects, the Spanish government has pushed through a package of labour market reforms.
The reform aims to reduce the country's unemployment rate, currently around the 20 percent mark, by making it less expensive for employers to fire workers if needed.
Under the previous rules, workers on full contracts were entitled to severance pay of up to 45 days per year worked, one of the highest levels in Europe, but this has been cut to 33 days for some contracts.
The government also cut civil service pay by 5 percent, froze most pensions and abolished a €2,500 childbirth allowance.
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