Spain's foreign affairs minister, Josep Borrell, has made it clear that he doesn't plan to resign over the fine imposed on him by the National Stock Market Commission for insider trading. He is accused of using information he was privy to as a member of the board of energy firm Abengoa to sell shares in the company in 2015 just before it took a preliminary step to insolvency proceedings.
Speaking outside an event related to Brexit, Borrell said that the inquiry "has concluded" and he "has already said everything [he] had to say". He played down the matter, saying that "for God's sake, we're talking about 9,000 euros, which is a minimal part of my portfolio", referring to the 9,030 euros he received through his wife for selling the shares. "If I'd had secret information I'd have sold it all, and not a minimal portion," he said.
He said that "of course" he would be "pleased" to appear in the Congress to give explanations over the case, even though he's "already given them". He attributed Podemos' calls for his resignation to the fact that "we're in an election period" and denied the accusations against him, although he hasn't appealed the fine. "It's logical for the opposition to squeeze out every option keep up the tension and pressure the government," he said.
He also played down the Commission's description of it as a "very serious infraction" because "almost all those which are published in the BOE [Official State Gazette] are very serious". He said that the 30,000 euro fine (£26,600; $33,900) he was imposed is the "minimum quantity".