Euro Capitals Tighten Fiscal Leash as EU Polices Cuts

In Madrid, the government is paring spending on roads and rails. In Rome, state property is to be sold off. In The Hague, lawmakers agreed to the second set of extraordinary cuts in two years.

Even with the 17-nation euro area projecting economic expansion next year for the first time since 2011, policy makers are keeping a fiscal leash on growth by maintaining austerity policies born in the fight to save the euro.