MADRID: The European Commission is considering fining the Spanish government 18.93 million euros for the “serious negligence” of the authorities in the region of Valencia in systematically failing to report complete health Spain faces 19-million-euro EU fine for negligence in reporting Valencia debt figuresservice spending figures when filing statistical reports.
This false accounting took place from 1988 until 2011, but the proposed fine relates only to the period from 2011 to 2012 because the European Commission only has the right to investigate Member State statistics from then onwards. This is the first time it has made use of this power, and although the investigation concludes that the national government of Spain is blameless, the fine would be levied on the State if the EC approves the punishment.
The accidental falsification of the data sent from Valencia to the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat came to light in May 2012, when Spain notified the statisticians that the 2011 deficit needed to be revised upwards by 0.4% to 8.9% of GDP as a result of extra spending having been found in the regions of Castilla-León, Valencia and Madrid. When Eurostat sent their inspectors in they found that the misreporting in Madrid was a one-off, but decided to launch a full investigation into the situation in the Comunidad Valenciana.
