Spain's minority government will succeed in passing its planned austerity budget for 2011 later this year and will meet its targets for deficit reduction in 2010 as well, economy minister Elena Salgado said today.
The Socialist administration is seven seats short of a majority in Spain's lower house of parliament and is expected to draw support from the Basque National Party and other centre-right parties to pass next year's budget.
"I'm convinced that we can pass the budget," Ms Salgado said in a radio interview today.
A first draft of the budget, which will include cuts to particular departments and austerity measures announced earlier this year, will be presented on Friday.
Ms Salgado was also confident Spain, one of the countries most closely-watched in Europe's struggle with billowing public debt, would meet its goal of reducing the budget shortfall to 9.3 per cent of gross domestic product this year.
By the end of next year it aims to cut the gap to 6.0 per cent of GDP.
"The deficit objectives are being met, so we can be sure the State's deficit target will be met by the end of the year," Ms Salgado said.
Reuters