independence crisis had cost the country “a billion” euros as fallout from the turmoil continued to hamper growth in the wealthy region.
Mr Luis de Guindos said slowdown in growth in Catalonia, which accounts to about a fifth of Spain’s gross domestic product, was hampering the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy. Spain was plunged into its deepest political crisis in decades when separatists in Catalonia’s regional government declared independence in October, following a banned referendum on the topic.
