Spain to ask Brussels for budget break in 2012

MADRID (MarketWatch)
Spain plans to ask the European Union for permission to allow the country to target a 2012 deficit of more than 5% of gross domestic product, according to a report published in the online edition of El Pais on Wednesday
Citing sources close to the government, the report said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Finance Minister Luis de Guindos will make the request to Brussels in 10 days.
They believe Spain's already weak economy cannot handle lowering the debt-to-GDP from 8% in 2011 to 4.4% for 2012, which would mean a bigger drop in growth and more jobless
On Thursday, the European Commission will release economic forecasts for the region, and Spain's will surely be "more pessimistic" than last autumn, de Guindos told journalists in Brussels, according to the report
 A spokesperson for Spain's economy ministry said the country's commitment to budget austerity is "absolute" and the government intends to make an even bigger effort this year to lower the deficit than was made last year