Spain toughens stance on deficit Spain's government is digging in its heels over trimming its deficit. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is lobbying Brussels, trying to get more lenient deficit targets from the European Commission. Madrid argues that with the economy slipping into recession it cannot cut spending by more than 40 billion euros this year to reach a deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product. A government source told reporters late on Wednesday that Spain would still be in compliance with European Union agreements on fiscal stability even if it did not hit a tough target of cutting the deficit. More about: Debt crisis, EU Summit, Mariano Rajoy, Spain, Spanish debt