Spain will “double efforts” to compensate deficit drift, minister De Guindos says

MADRID | The Spain’s minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos announced Wednesday that he will explain the euro group the country’s 2011 budgetary slippages

“with transparency and and accuracy,” reports new agency EFE.

De Guindos also will defend that this year’s Spain’s commitment to fiscal consolidation is ‘absolute’, in spite of the estimated 2011 ‘complex’ deficit drift of 8.5% (from previous 6%) and the EU’s economy negative growth forecast of -1%.

The euro group’s members will have a full account of the Spanish 2011 budget implementation.

“From this moment on […] every European country will start their stability programmes’s review and Spain will also be there,” reminded the minister.

De Guindos’s words came after the European Comissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn assured that Spain’s deficit goal (currently at 4.4%) will not be relaxed until the euro group receives detailed information about the adjustments that Rajoy’s government is preparing.

“We are absolutely transparent, the statistical quality is the highest, as well as the government approach and communication with the European Commission and the rest of our colleagues,” emphasised De Guindos.

The minister has insisted that his European counterparts will be informed on all last year regional and national budgetary slippages, as well as on Social Security drifts and government records before the next European Summit.

Against this background, the Spanish government is willing to make

“a double effort” in order to compensate those drifts, considering that “meeting the conditions are a priority, and Spain is aware of its importance for the whole of the European economy,” according to De Guindos.

Furthermore, the ministry of Economy has confirmed that Spain’s budget for 2012 will be presented on March 30, as president Mariano Rajoy already told the nation.