Skip to main content

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves a two-day European Union leaders summit in Brussels early June 29, 2012.LAURENT DUBRULE/Reuters

Spain, France and Italy demanded Tuesday that emergency financial reforms agreed by the euro zone be immediately applied, complaining of a delay amid high tensions on the markets, the Spanish government said."Spain, France and Italy demand the immediate execution of the agreements" made at a Brussels summit on June 29, when European Union leaders approved measures to support banks and growth, a statement released by the Spanish foreign ministry said.

"Speed is an essential condition for the success of any European action," Tuesday's statement quoted Spain's junior minister for European Affairs, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, as saying.

"There is a worrying delay between the decision taken by the European Council and the execution of said accords."

The June accord paved the way for the euro zone's future €500-billion ($600-billion U.S.) bailout fund to recapitalize ailing banks directly, without adding to the national debts of struggling countries.

That part of the accord was good news for countries such as Spain, where banks have been weakened by mountains of bad loans made during a construction boom that went bust in 2008.

But the recapitalization is to occur only after a euro zone-wide banking supervisory body is set up, which is expected to take until some time in 2013.

The deal is also being examined by a constitutional court in Germany, the biggest contributor to European financial rescue plans, with a ruling not expected before mid September.

Interact with The Globe