Cross-party crisis talks on Spanish economy

The first meeting of the anti-crisis commission on Thursday was described as a step forward by the Government, and as a waste of time by the Partido Popular who said they were ‘perplexed’ by the simplicity of the procedure.

The Government had previously published a guide to the meeting and the starting point of debate was why that excluded any mention reform of labour laws, pensions and the education system.

Elena Salgado, the Minister for Tax and the Economy, said that the meeting had been ‘very positive’ while Cristóbal Montero for the PP said they were ‘disconcerted’ by the procedure.

The PNV Basque Nationalist Party commented that ‘some want to raise taxes and others want to reduce them’.

A series of bilateral meetings between the Government and the other parties is now expected from Wednesday when the PP will go first, and on Monday a new document is expected to be presented by the Government which will have more concrete proposals.