LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Finance ministers from all 27 European Union countries are expected on to approve a one-year extension, until 2014, to reach Spain's deadline for achieving a budget deficit of three percent.

The deadline was extended in view of the difficult economic conditions Spain faces. Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker stressed that Madrid must implement all the measures needed to bring its public finances in line with EU standards.

The European Commission has formally endorsed that proposal. They also renewed Juncker for a two and a half year mandate as the head of the Eurogroup.

"In this way, we have preserved stability and continuity for the Eurozone institutions, which seemed to be indispensable in the current situation," French Foreign Minister Pierre Moscivici said.

The precise amount of the bailout will probably not be known until September, after singular examinations of different Spanish banks have been completed.

Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos, speaking after the bailout had been announced, as he left the meeting, declared "everything has gone frankly well. Thank you."

Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager added that discussions had been "extensive and intensive."

The European continent's fourth largest economy, Spain has been struggling to keep a lid on its government deficit in the midst of a recession while trying to support its troubled banking industry.

European Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn insisted that Spain will have to meet all the obligations under the EU's excessive deficit procedures.

Speaking after more than nine hours of ministerial talks in Brussels, Rehn said the EU now expected Spain's public deficit would be 6.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product this year, falling to 4.5 percent in 2013 and then 2.8 percent in 2014.

Spain in May revised its 2011 public deficit figure, saying that it stood at 8.9 percent of gross domestic product instead of the 8.51 percent reported earlier.

The EU warned the same month that Spain would miss its public deficit targets this year and next while remaining in recession through 2013.

The conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged to cut Spain's public deficit to 5.3 percent this year.

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.