【英语国际】西班牙首相：欧洲债务危机已经结束

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero declared that the European debt crisis is over but said that governments must work better together and with markets to stave off such events.

'I believe that the debt crisis affecting Spain, and the euro zone in general, has passed,' Mr. Zapatero said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

One lesson learned from the market turbulence that hit the euro zone in recent months is that asingle monetary policy isn't enough for the European Union, Mr. Zapatero said, noting 'We require further convergence to boost competitiveness, and stronger principles to implement balanced economic and fiscal policies.'

The Spanish leader, who said he doesn't expect gross domestic product to contract in coming quarters, offered a robust defense of his country's economy and the austerity packages he has pushed through Parliament.

He said he expects the governments of Portugal and Ireland -- which have seen borrowing costs rise in recent days amid concerns about their fiscal soundness -- to continue with deficit-reduction measures needed to foster confidence in euro-zone economies. Another lesson from the crisis is the need for greater economic policy coordination within the European Union, Mr. Zapatero said.

Earlier Tuesday, the Spanish leader met with senior executives from major U.S. financial-services companies and investment funds to talk about Spain's economy and shore up investor confidence in its fundamentals.

Mr. Zapatero said his message is that 'confidence has been restored,' particularly after the country moved forward with reform plans and released results of stress tests that evaluated the soundness of its banking system in late July. Risk aversion toward Spain has subsided as the government has shown progress in reducing its deficit.

'The other lesson that we learned, is that all governments had to work intensively to learn how markets work in the age of communications,' he added.

Mr. Zapatero reiterated his government's commitment to economic reform and fiscal austerity, including plans to cut the country's budget gap to 6% next year and to 3% in 2012. The gap is forecast to be 9.3% in 2010.

西班牙首相萨帕特罗(Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero)宣布，欧洲债务危机已经结束，但他说，各国政府必须加强合作，并更好地利用市场机制，来避免此类危机再次发生。

Joe Fornabaio for The Wall Street Journal萨帕特罗周二在纽约。萨帕特罗周二接受《华尔街日报》采访说，我相信，这次影响了西班牙和整个欧元区的债务危机已经成为过去。

萨帕特罗说，近几个月的市场波动给欧元区造成了冲击，从中汲取的教训之一就是，对于欧盟(European Union)而言，有统一的货币政策还不够。他说，我们需要进一步联合，从而提高竞争力，并强化原则，实施均衡的经济与财政政策。

萨帕特罗说，预计未来几个季度的国内生产总值(GDP)不会萎缩。他还为西班牙经济以及自己力推议会通过的财政紧缩方案进行强力辩护。

他说，预计葡萄牙和爱尔兰政府会继续实施削减赤字的措施，以提振欧元区经济体的信心。近几个星期，因为市场担心葡萄牙和爱尔兰的财政是否稳健，两国的借款成本都出现了上升。萨帕特罗说，从债务危机中汲取的另一个教训，便是欧盟内部的经济政策需要加强协调。

周二早些时候，帕萨特罗与美国几家大型金融服务公司和投资基金的高管会面，讨论西班牙的经济状况，并借此提高投资者对其基本面的信心。

萨帕特罗说，他要发出的信号是，“信心已经恢复”，特别是在西班牙推进其改革计划、并在7月下旬公布其评估银行系统稳健程度的压力测试结果之后。由于西班牙政府在削减赤字方面取得了进展，投资者对该国的风险规避情绪已经减弱。

他还说，我们汲取的另一个教训，是各国政府都要不遗余力地了解信息时代的市场运行机制。

萨帕特罗重申了他的政府实施经济改革与财政紧缩的决心。这些措施包括在明年把预算赤字率降到6%，2012年降到3%。根据预测，2010年的预算赤字率是9.3%。