ECB’s De Cos Urges Ambitious Reforms in Spain to Spur Recovery

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank policy maker Pablo Hernandez de Cos called on officials in Spain to seize on the unprecedented euro-area monetary and fiscal response to the coronavirus to implement an ambitious and comprehensive set of economic reforms.

Spain must put in place policies that are commensurate with the magnitude of the challenges the economy faces, he wrote in an article published in Spanish newspapers on Sunday.

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That would ensure that the ECB's easing measures and the European Union's 750 billion-euro ($883 billion) recovery fund are as effective as possible in spurring an economic recovery in Spain, added Hernandez de Cos, who is also the governor of the Spanish central bank. He reiterated that the ECB will do “whatever it takes” to support the region's economy.

Spain must “urgently implement an ambitious, comprehensive and long-lasting reform strategy that can be evaluated and that addresses the structural challenges facing our economy,” he said. Hernandez de Cos also urged the government and lawmakers to spell out a medium-term fiscal consolidation plan to be implemented once the crisis has eased.

“Our future well-being depends on an economic policy strategy that combines these principles,” Hernandez de Cos wrote.

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