ZAPATERO HOLDS CRISIS CONSULTATION.

• Position: Conference news - Brief article

The head of the Spanish government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, chaired, on 5 January in Madrid, a meeting with Jacques Delors (former European Commission president), Felipe Gonzalez (former Spanish prime minister), Pedro Solbes (former Spanish economy minister) and Elena Salgado, current economy minister of Spain, to discuss the way out of the crisis in Europe and plans for a "European economic government". As part of its Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, Spain has placed the economic recession and consolidation of the still limited recovery at the top of its priorities.

The discussions, which lasted around three hours, were "very useful" and primarily concerned "strengthening of...