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Spain's King Juan Carlos meets with Bill Clinton

Agencia EFEMay 21, 2013 15:45
Madrid, May 21 (EFE).- King Juan Carlos on Tuesday welcomed former U.S. President Bill Clinton to Zarzuela Palace, where the pair discussed the economic outlook for Spain and the European Union. Clinton, who arrived in Madrid on Monday evening, met with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy before his appointment with the king.

Spanish P.M. vows to limit public and regulated prices

Agencia EFEMay 16, 2013 10:45
Madrid, May 16 (EFE).- Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday assured the leaders of some of Spain's largest business and labor organizations that he was committed to limiting the prices of public and regulated services. Rajoy discussed his position at the Moncloa Palace, where he and Employment Minister Fatima Bañez met with the leaders of the CEOE and CEPYME business organizations, as well as CCOO labor federation secretary-general Ignacio Fernandez Toxo and UGT labor federation secretary-general Candido Mendez.

Spain's Rajoy balks at making deeper reforms

May 13, 2013 10:46
By Fiona Ortiz MADRID (Reuters) - After a year of radical reforms that made Spain more competitive but also exacerbated a deep recession, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has largely lost his appetite for aggressive and unpopular cuts to pensions or state bureaucracy. His plunging approval rating at home is holding him back as unemployment soars to 27 percent. Sources within the government say he has also reached the view that deeper reforms at home will win him few points in negotiations with European partners.

Spanish and Portuguese leaders hold summit in Madrid

Agencia EFEMay 13, 2013 09:30
Madrid, May 13 (EFE).- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy welcomed his Portuguese counterpart, Pedro Passos Coelho, to Madrid on Monday for the 26th Iberian Summit. The leaders hope to send a joint message to the European Union urging a push for a banking union and the implementation of measures to fight unemployment. Rajoy welcomed Passos Coelho to the Moncloa Palace, where the leaders listened to the Spanish and Portuguese national anthems before reviewing a military honor guard.

Rajoy: Spain will emerge stronger from economic crisis

Agencia EFEMay 12, 2013 20:15
Lisbon, May 12 (EFE).- Spain will emerge stronger from the economic crisis and will return to prosperity, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in comments ahead of this week's Iberian Summit. The crisis has had a "tremendous social impact," Rajoy said in comments e-mailed to Portugal's Lusa news agency. It is "logical and symptomatic of the good health of democracies" that there be a "social response to many of the political measures taken to allow an exit from the crisis on solid and stable foundations," Rajoy said.

EU Commission or ESM could wind down ailing banks: report

May 11, 2013 17:03
BERLIN (Reuters) - People involved in negotiating a European banking union are discussing entrusting the European Commission or the euro zone's bailout fund with winding down ailing banks rather than creating a separate authority, a German newspaper said. That would help Europe make progress towards a banking union as it would not require EU treaties to be changed since treaties already mention the European Commission and European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Sueddeutsche Zeitung said in an article to appear on Wednesday.

Spanish gov't unveils new investment plans by auto sector

Agencia EFEMay 10, 2013 15:30
Barcelona, May 10 (EFE).- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said here Friday that carmakers operating in the Iberian nation are planning additional investments totaling roughly 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion). Rajoy made the announcement during a lunch for automobile company executives ahead of next week's Barcelona International Motor Show. The president of the Catalonia autonomous community, Artur Mas, also was in attendance at the gathering.

Spain and Italy urge fast action on youth unemployment

May 8, 2013 18:06
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister and his Italian counterpart urged the European Union on Monday to take fast action to tackle high youth unemployment and to speed up the implementation of the euro zone banking union. Spain's Mariano Rajoy and Enrico Letta were speaking at a news conference after meeting in the Spanish capital of Madrid. (Reporting By Julien Toyer; writing by Sarah Morris; editing by Fiona Ortiz)

Spain's Rajoy calls for ECB to help business funding

May 8, 2013 18:04
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he backed potential additional action by the European Central Bank to help small businesses obtain funding at reasonable rates. The Spanish premier said the European Investment Bank could also do more to help businesses struggling to obtain credit. Small companies in Southern Europe are having to pay much higher rates for financing than in other EU countries. (Reporting By Julien Toyer; writing by Sarah Morris; editing by Fiona Ortiz)

Italy's Letta sees anti-EU surge if no answers to crisis

May 8, 2013 17:24
MADRID (Reuters) - Europe risks a wave of anti-EU votes in 2014 European parliamentary elections unless a June summit of European Union leaders offers a concrete response to economic crisis, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Monday. "If the European summit in June... results in a bureaucratic, routine, formal conclusion, with a great abstract plan that needs two years to be implemented...we risk creating a climate in Europe in which the winning parties will be anti-European," Letta said.
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