Spain to cut 8 bln euros in administration reforms in 2014-2015

Spain aims to cut eight billion euros (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014 and 2015 via reforms of the country's administration, deputy secretary general of the ruling Popular Party Esteban Gonzalez Pons said here on Thursday.

According to Gonzalez Pons, the group in charge of designing the reform will present their conclusions in June when they will propose a reduction of 8 billion euros.

He said all members of the Popular Party believed that a reform must be carried out in order to save costs and reduce taxes for Spaniards.

Commenting on the worrisome unemployment situation in Spain which saw 27.1 percent of the country's active population without a job, Gonzalez Pons said a national agreement should be reached in order to create employment, something that the government insisted that it would happen in 2014 when the economy is expected to grow again.

The Spanish government presented on Friday last week its new economic predictions in which unemployment will decrease to 26.7 percent in 2014 and to 25.8 percent in 2016. The country's annual economic output, in the mean time, will suffer a 1.3 percent contraction in 2013 but will grow by 0.4 and 0.9 percent in 2014 and 2015 respectively.