Spain to continue with economic reforms: PM

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged the government would continue with the reforms that helped consolidate the country's economic recovery, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to Spain's economic newspaper Expansion, the statement was made on Tuesday during Rajoy's meeting with 31 businessmen from leading Spanish companies in Madrid and Barcelona.

Rajoy said he will work on GDP growth in the economic area and on common sense in the political area.

He will continue with the economic reforms that helped consolidate Spain's economic recovery "with a forecasted growth rate of 2.4 percent in 2015, which will be revised up, and a creation of 600,000 job opportunities; a million if we add up the 400,000 of 2014".

Rajoy also highlighted that mortgages granted to prospective buyers had increased along with purchases of vehicles, both are signs of consumer demands recovery.

Businessmen said the situation had changed and signs of economic recovery were noticeable in the country.

However, they also expressed their concern about the results of this year's general elections and the difficulty of having a majority in the Spanish parliament due to the rise of new political parties. They also discussed corruption scandals and the nationalist movement in Catalonia.

Taking into account the support from other political parties, Rajoy said he would be able to have a majority. Rajoy also said he is open to dialogue when it comes to the issue of Catalonia and will "not breach the Spanish Constitution".

In the meeting, participants also dealt with international issues such as the threat of jihadism and the economic situation in Greece. Enditem