Zapatero's second vice-president, Elena Salgado, reassured the country today that 'Spain would come out of the economic crisis at the same time as the rest of Europe'.

Speaking at the opening of a course on the economic crisis, organised by the Association of Economics Journalists (APIE) and the BBVA bank, Salgado insisted that the Spanish economy had most probably hit rock bottom during the first quarter of this year and said she was confident that the country would not see any more similar sharp falls over the coming months.

Although the Minister for the Economy reiterated that there are a number of economic indicators that suggest the worst is over, she reminded her audience that the overall economic drop for this year would be marked - about 3.6% according to the latest provision from the Council of Ministers.

In the presence of BBVA's president, Francisco González, Salgado also made mention of the banks' drop in lending, pointing out that the situation would have been even more serious had the government not intervened.