Trichet: Spain must ‘deepen’ labour reforms

The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, Friday appealed to Spain to deepen the overhaul of its labour market and push ahead with pension reforms, “two elements essential for the prosperity” of its economy.

“It is extremely important to deepen the reform of the labour market,” Trichet told a news conference in Madrid.

He was in the Spanish capital to attend a conference on cooperation between the central banks of the eurozone countries and those of Latin America.

Spain’s reforms received final approval from parliament on September 9, despite fierce opposition from the country’s major unions which staged a general strike on September 29 in protest.