Spanish economy minister not ruling out sovereign bailout

  The Spanish government would need to know the conditions for a sovereign bailout before actually applying for one, Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos said on Tuesday. De Guindos did not rule out the possibility that debt-laced Spain might need to request an international bailout after all in an interview with German newspaper Handelsbatt published on Tuesday. But Madrid wanted to know more about the conditions of this financial assistance, he said. The minister said the upcoming European Central Bank's executive board meeting and the informal Eurogroup meeting could provide clarification in two weeks. Madrid had insisted for months that it was not negotiating a full-blown sovereign bailout on top of an international bailout of up to 100 billion euros to shore up its banking sector. Nevertheless, news that Spain's debt-struck Catalonia region reached out last week for a central government rescue has fed expectations that the eurozone's fourth largest economy will be forced to seek a broad bailout. Spain's indebted Andalusia region also said Monday it would seek central government aid with a one-billion-euro "advance" to provide liquidity. Meanwhile, De Guindos emphasized in Tuesday's interview the irreversibility of the euro. But he suggested the ECB action could do more to help eliminate doubts about the euro. Madrid is expecting that the ECB would reveal more details on its measures to alleviate pressure on the markets on Thursday.