José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's Socialist prime minister, has announced an extra €11bn of urgent government spending on infrastructure, the motor industry and other targets: the latest part of a multifaceted fiscal stimulus plan he called "unprecedented in its magnitude".

Mr Zapatero's generosity with state funds underlines the divisions within the European Union over how to handle the recession arising from the global financial crisis. His deliberate use of heavy government spending differs markedly from the more cautious approach of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.