On 8 July, the Council decided not to oppose Commission´s recommendation to not impose fines on Portugal and Spain for their failure adjust their budget deficits. Earlier in July, the Council agreed that both countries failed to deliver on their commitments, so the proposal for fines was a necessary next step. Zero-sum fine was, however, one of the options and was also widely expected. Fines are politically very sensitive, even more so for Portugal and Spain at the moment. Portugal has a new anti-austerity government and Spain still has no government after two indecisive elections. At the same time as cancelling sanctions, the Council gave Portugal and Spain recommendations based on their own commitments to correct the deficit. In a separate sanction scenario, the EC communicates with the EP concerning possible sanctions related to access to EU funds.

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