Spain is not Greece

According to the latest prognosis of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Spain will be the only major EU state not to register growth in 2010. But Spanish daily El Correo points out that its economic situation should by no means be compared with Greece's: "Spain isn't Greece. The economic and financial situations of both countries shouldn't and can't be compared. This needs to be said loud and clear, as the president of Banco Santander, Emilio Botín, has already done in a bid to counter international opinion, which tends to equate the problems of both countries regarding the level of their debts, their public deficits and their capacity to overcome the crisis. This is a poor comparison which seriously damages confidence in our country and increases the risk premiums on Spain's foreign debt, thus raising the cost of the debt and seriously damaging investment in Spain."

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