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Portugal and Spain risk fines for breaking EU deficit rules

POLITICIANS and voters in Portugal and Spain must wait to see whether they will be fined by the European Commission for failing to comply with EU budget rules.

EU finance ministers agreed in Brussels yesterday that neither country has taken “effective action” to reduce borrowing to to prescribed levels.

Under EU rules, countries have to limit their budget deficits to 3 per cent of their annual gross domestic product (GDP).

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