Spanish PM draws positive balance for 2017

MADRID, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy drew a positive picture of 2017 in his last official appearance of the year.

Speaking after the last meeting of his cabinet before the New Year, Rajoy highlighted that unemployment has fallen below 4 million for the first time since the start of the economic crisis and said that 20 million Spaniards could be working by 2018.

"Investment, consumption, exports and construction are allowing us to grow sufficiently," said Rajoy in a speech, which above all focused on the crisis in the region of Catalonia.

The issue of Catalan independence has dominated the Spanish political scene in the second half of the year and after the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence on Oct. 27, the central government in Madrid temporarily suspended the region's autonomy.

Just 8 days ago, the Dec. 21 elections in Catalonia again gave pro-independence parties the majority of seats in the Catalan regional assembly. Rajoy said the attempts to declare independence in the region was "the greatest attack on our (Spanish) Constitution", adding that whoever formed the new Catalan regional they will have to "signal their political priorities within the law."

Rajoy also announced that he had called a constituent session for the regional parliament of Catalonia on Jan. 17, 2018, in which a new government will probably be formed.

He also stressed the risk that continued uncertainty over Catalonia could cause to the Spanish and Catalan economies in 2018, saying that uncertainty was the "only shadow generating instability for our economy." Enditem