OECD sanctions against Portugal and Spain – Observer

The Organization Secretary-General for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed up, this Friday, against potential sanctions from the European Commission to Portugal and Spain because of the excessive deficit, claiming a commitment to invest and growth.

Spain and Portugal, says Angel Gurría, made a “great effort of fiscal consolidation” and are among the countries that “more” reforms had to apply because of the economic and financial crisis of recent years .

“it seems to me that no one should be punished,” he stressed the official, who was speaking in Paris at the presentation of two annual economic reports OECD: one on the European Union (EU) and another facing the euro area.

Underlining not to mention the “abandonment of discipline” the public accounts when claiming that there are no sanctions, the head of the OECD calls the EU an exercise “controlled and collective” of public money bet areas such as education, fostering economic growth.

last week, the European Commission reiterated that merely follow the rules of European economic governance to postpone a decision on possible sanctions to Portugal and Spain due excessive deficit, thus devaluing the criticism of the President of the Eurogroup, but also in some Member States Ecofin seat (ministers of EU Finance), in particular the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, who considered that “ease the rules do not helps increase confidence. “

the Portuguese parliament approved on Thursday two votes of condemnation, one left and one from the PSD / CDS-PP, against the implementation of European sanctions against Portugal, which led the President of the Assembly of the Republic to congratulate yourself with the “consensus”.

the OECD, for its part, asked this Friday, increased public and private investment to boost economic growth , adding that the investment is still far from pre-2007.

In its annual report for the eurozone, now released, the organization stresses that “unlike the United States, investment is still very below 2007 levels, particularly in countries most affected by the crisis “as Portugal.