Spain ready for bailout but Germany keen to wait
Spain is ready for a bailout but Germany is holding back, according to a Reuters exclusive.
Spain is ready for a bailout but Germany is holding back, according to a Reuters exclusive.
After months of uncertainty, Spain is apparently ready to apply for a formal bailout, but Germany has signalled that European lenders should hold off from granting the troubled Iberian nation a rescue fund.
This is according to senior eurozone sources speaking exclusively to Reuters, who claim the German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said Spain is taking all the necessary steps to overcome its financial problems and does not need this kind of fiscal lifeline.
The revelation comes as the financial markets and partners of the single currency region are pressuring Madrid decision-makers to seek a rescue programme that would trigger European Central Bank bond-buying.
Privately, a number of European diplomats and a senior German official said chancellor Angela Merkel is keen to avoid putting more individual bailouts to her parliament for struggling eurozone countries.
At 11:55 BST, the euro was 0.2 per cent higher in forex trading versus the dollar to €1 buying $1.293, while it was stable against the pound, with €1 equalling £0.799.
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