Spain launches €11 billion stimulus package
Friday, November 28, 2008
- 12 January 2012: Valuable paintings stolen from Greek gallery
- 17 December 2011: Iceland formally recognises Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders
- 21 August 2011: La Liga fixtures face delay due to players' strike
- 9 August 2011: Allied WWII spy Nancy Wake dies aged 98
- 12 July 2011: Study shows long-term couples more satisfied with relationships and sex lives
Spain has launched a €11 billion stimulus plan intended to boost the weakening economy and create 300,000 jobs. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, says that the money will be spent mostly in infrastructure and public works.
A portion of the package will aim to assist Spain's auto industry, which accounts for a fifth of Spanish exports and has been hit hard by the economic crisis, having seen sales plummet 54.6% since the beginning of the year.
The plan represents 1.1% of Spain's gross domestic product, and is a part of the €200 billion stimulus announced by the European Union.
Spain's economy is in a sharp downturn due to a crash in the construction sector. Spanish GDP shrank 0.2% in the third quarter, the first such decline in fifteen years. Spain's unemployment rate reached 11.3% in September, a record for the European Union.
Germany launched a similar package worth €50 billion, and France is expected to launch economic measures worth €20 billion next week as well.
[edit] Sources
- "Spain unveils 11bn euro stimulus" — BBC News Online, November 27, 2008
- "Spain: economic stimulus plan to create jobs" — Associated Press, November 27, 2008
