The Spanish economy has the potential to deliver a positive surprise, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said Thursday, DPA reported.
"I would not be surprised if Spain is going to surprise us all by showing a very strong economic recovery," Dijsselbloem told an audience at the University of Cork, Ireland.
Spain is in the midst of a deep recession, with a contraction of 1.5 per cent expected this year and unemployment at 26 per cent - and more than double that for young people.
But Spain had the potential to again become "one of the economic engines in the eurozone," Dijsselbloem said, citing factors such as its young population, good infrastructure and education system, and increasing competitiveness.
At the same time Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch finance minister, said Spain was still stuck in a deep recession, adding that this was the case for Europe as a whole.
"A meaningful recovery is not yet to be expected across the EU until the end of this year," he said. "There will remain significant differences between member states."
On Friday, Dijsselbloem is due in Dublin for informal Eurogroup talks, followed by a meeting of all 27 EU finance ministers.