Eurozone crisis live: Battle lines drawn over Spanish bailout How long can Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy avoid asking for financial assistance? Photograph: Andrea Comas Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of Europe's financial crisis. Spain is top of the agenda this morning. Last weekend's meeting of euro finance ministers was dominated by the question of whether, and when, Madrid will cave into pressure and seek financial help. With the European Central Bank promising to buy unlimited quantities of bonds if a country applies for aid, the pieces are now in place. Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, though, is resistant. Almost everyone expects the Spanish bailout. But with the country's borrowing costs back in safe territory, Rajoy isn't being pushed. How long can he hang on for? Jan Kees de Jager, the Dutch finance minister, put the ball firmly in Spain's court yesterday, telling CNBC that: It's up to Spain whether or not to ask for a further program...There is still a lot to gain for Spain in Europe without asking for a full programme. Meanwhile, the Spanish public continues to register its anger over the direction the country is taking. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend, with similar demonstrations also taking place in Portugal (more on this shortly). Greece, of course, is the other big issue. Will Athens be granted more time to hit its targets, and has it done enough to win its next aid tranche? Finance minister Yannis Stournaras told us last night that he is now more upbeat, having met his fellow finance ministers in Cyprus on Friday and Saturday: I am more optimistic ... we have turned the corner. There is more trust between us and our partners but we still have a long way to go. In the financial markets, though, the optimism created by the Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing (QE3) is ebbing away, with the FTSE 100 dropping by 26 points in early trading. As usual, we'll be tracking all the latest development in the eurozone and beyond.