The European Union (EU) Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn on Sunday welcomed the measures announced by the Spanish authorities to further reform the country's banking sector.

"A prompt and profound reform of the banking sector is a cornerstone of Spain's crisis response and its overall reform strategy," Rehn said in a statement two days after the Spanish authorities said it would call in two independent advisers to value loans made during the country's now collapsed property bubble.

The move follows rising concerns over the extent of Spanish banking sector's exposure to the property sector, after the government took a 4.5-billion-euro (5.8 billion U.S. dollars) stake in the troubled lender Bankia earlier in the week.

Under the new plan, Spanish banks will be forced to take on extra 30 billion euros of capital to cushion themselves against loans going bad.

The current crisis in Europe is the result of a severe and intertwined combination of banking sector fragilities and sovereign debt crisis. This was particularly evident in Spain, Rehn said.

"It is an indispensable supplement of the determined fiscal consolidation and front-loaded structural reforms that can bring sustainable growth and more and better jobs," said Rehn, who hailed the measures as "decisive action" in addressing remaining vulnerabilities within the sector.

"The combination of increased provisioning against potential future losses, segregation of troubled assets, independent validation of balance sheets, and the availability of necessary public funds to support the overall reform effort is essential in order to reinforce investor confidence in Spanish banks," said Rehn.

The Commissioner also said the European Commission would "continue to cooperate closely with the Spanish authorities on the elements of the reform, as appropriate."