President of the Government insists that the economic clean-up process will enable Spain to recover

Mariano Rajoy recalled that the Government of Spain has commissioned two independent assessors to analyse the situation of the Spanish financial system and draft a report on its capitalisation needs. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund will offer its own opinion on the matter.

He went on to say that when the Government has received these assessments and spoken with its European partners, it will announce the figure needed to recapitalise the banks and will decide on "the most appropriate procedure in the general interest of the Spanish people".

The President of the Government said that Spain's main problem is that it has a large foreign debt, meaning it needs to make an effort to reduce the public deficit and subsequently clean up private debt. "Spain has some specific difficulties that it will overcome", he said.

Mariano Rajoy recalled that significant amounts of liquidity were injected into the financial entities in Europe and the United States in 2008 and 2009. "We did not take the same step at the time and that has put us in a situation of greater difficulty now. However, you can rest assured that, just as others overcame that situation, so will we".

Mariano Rajoy went on to reiterate that, in order to grow and create jobs, Spain needs public administration services that do not spend what they do not have, as well as restructured and sound financial entities that are capable of offering credit. He stressed that Spain is currently undergoing a highly necessary process of cleaning up its economy and, although the reforms will not produce effects in the short term, they will produce effects in the future. "This is the toughest part of the process, cleaning up problematic public accounts, capitalising the banks and implementing necessary reforms. But the Government has a perfectly defined plan and this plan is what will eventually mean we overcome the situation we are in at the moment", he said.

The President of the Government stressed that Spain is a country of 45 million people, with 46% of its GDP invested abroad, where exports are growing "a great deal" and with some of the most important banks, concessionaires and public works companies in the world. At the moment, we have "specific difficulties that we are going to overcome" and for that reason "we are reducing the public deficit and implementing structural reforms".

Finally, on the management of Bankia, the President of the Government said "I want there to be a debate on this matter where such a debate needs to take place, but we are currently at a very delicate time and we should all remain focused and not get caught up on things that, and I'm not saying they lack importance, are not of a decisive nature right now".

When asked about the decision by the President of the Region of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, to reduce the number of members in the Regional Assembly, Mariano Rajoy said "any Government, whether the Government of the Nation or the Regional Governments, have the power to adopt those decisions they deem most appropriate" provided they are aimed at reducing the deficit.