The Spanish government is due to outline its austerity budget for 2013 at an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Thursday amid a deteriorating economy and the eurozone’s highest unemployment rate, local media reported.
Spain is set to outline 40 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings, which it expects to achieve through spending cuts, tax increases and structural reforms. The savings will be used to pay interest on the foreign debt of the eurozone’s fourth largest economy that will reach about 40 billion euros next year.
This year, the Spanish government has cut budget spending by 27.3 billion euros.
The Spanish media have dubbed the new budget as the “most ascetic” for the entire period of democracy in the kingdom.
The budget comes amid further protests in Spain where the unemployment rate has hit 25 percent and increased expectations that the country will have to seek a bailout package from eurozone partners.
