EU waives budget deficit fines for Spain and Portugal

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The European Union has formally agreed to waive fines for Spain and Portugal over their excessive budget deficits.
Under EU rules, member states are not supposed to run annual deficits greater than 3% of their total economic output.

Last year, Spain's deficit was 5.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) and Portugal's stood at 4.4%.

But citing "exceptional circumstances", the EU Council has given each country more time to conform to the rules and...