Spanish economy to grow by 2.4 pct in 2015: PM

Spain's economy would grow by 2.4 percent in 2015, according to predictions of the Spanish government announced on Tuesday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy made this statement at the Spanish Parliament on Tuesday during the annual two-day state-of-the-nation parliamentary debate. The figure is 0.4 percent higher than the forecast previously announced by the government.

Rajoy defended his policies, as according to him produced results. He said the fact that the economy grew by 1.4 percent in 2014 along with improvements within the labor market proved that.

On the other hand, Rajoy assured that in 2015 there would be a million job opportunities more, in a country with an unemployment rate of 23.7 percent and more than five million people looking for a job.

"2014 is the first year since 2006 that Spain sees job creation and a fall in unemployment," Rajoy said.

"It's a nation that has come out of a nightmare. It has salved itself, recovered economic confidence, enjoys prestige and is once again attractive for investors," Rajoy stated.

He also said that he wants to compensate Spain's middle class because of his efforts during the crisis.

Given that, he announced new economic measures to help alleviate the consequences of the crisis. They would be implemented before his term of office ends, when Spain holds general elections later this year.

Those measures aim at boosting employment and also affect the debt of families, who would be able to renegotiate their debts according to a specific procedure.

Despite his optimism Rajoy warned that the country's achievements are still weak, so he called on Spaniards to not allow the country to go backwards, highlighting that there are no miracles as other promise. Endit