ECB forcing Spain to seek bailout

The ECB has indicated that it is willing to buy massive amounts of government bonds of crisis countries - but only once they have officially applied for help. This decision will have major repercussions for Spanish society, the left-liberal daily El País fears: "For Spain, the consequences are clear. Now that the door of direct intervention by the ECB has closed, the government will have to think about applying for help from the bailout fund and when the best time to do so would be. … After the banking rescue the government insisted that the Spanish economy wouldn't need a second bailout. But now the conditions for refinancing Spain's debt make it seem inevitable that the government will have to apply for help from the ECB, breaking yet another of its emphatic promises. ... It's difficult to avoid the perception that the single currency will be maintained at the expense of draconian measures in Spain and Italy, with unforeseeable consequences for society."

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Banks, » Italy, » Spain, » Europe
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » Spain in the banking crisis, » The row over debt mutualisation

» To the complete press review of Friday, August 3, 2012