The European Commission commended the Spanish government, on 10 April, for its 2012 budget, which goes in the “right direction” to reduce the deficit, but it is awaiting additional information before expressing acomplete opinion.

“We have carried out a preliminary analysis of the central government’s draft budget. [...] We have a positive view of this first budget,” European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly told the press. However, “we now need to see the budgets of Spain’s autonomous regions as well as the country’s social security regime before deciding if more efforts are required,” he said. “We hope to have these elements by the end of the month.”

The Commission will then conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Spanish situation to determine whether the country may need to make an additional effort or not.

On 9 April, the Spanish government announced that it planned to save another ten billion euro in health and education.

These savings will be borne by “both the autonomous regions and the central government,” said a government spokesman after a meeting on this subject between the head of the right-of-centre government, Mariano Rajoy, and the education and health ministers.