Spain's king takes 7% pay cut in austerity drive

PanARMENIAN.Net - Spain's king and crown prince are to take a pay cut as part of the latest round of austerity measures meted out by the country's government as it attempts to control its deficit during a recession, AP said.

King Juan Carlos and Crown Prince Felipe are cutting their yearly salaries by about 7 percent – to about (EURO)272,000 ($334,043.20) and (EURO)131,000 ($160,881.10) respectively – in line with the new austerity package, the Royal Palace said. The royal family has about (EURO)8.3 million budgeted for it this year, down 2 percent from 2011.

Spain is enacting more austerity in an attempt to convince skeptical investors it has a strategy to deal with its public finances and its banks, which are being bailed out with up to (EURO)100 billion from the other 16 countries that use the euro.

On Tuesday, July 17 the country tapped bond market investors for (EURO)3.6 billion ($4.4 billion) in the first debt auction since unveiling its latest package of cuts. Its ability to raise the short-term money at lower interest rates represented a rare bit of good news for the conservative government, which is facing mounting opposition to its austerity plans.