Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday said faster integration was needed to allow the European Union (EU) to focus on banking and fiscal union.

Rajoy made this statement in the Spanish parliament explaining the conclusions of the European Council held in March.

He said he was not fully satisfied with the meeting because although he agreed with the conclusions of the Council, he would like to see a faster implementation of agreements already reached.

He said Spain "has the right to request the implementation of the principle of integration" because the country was fulfilling all of its commitments to the EU.

He avoided answering questions made by the opposition parties over whether or not the EU would give Spain more margin to meet the 2013 deficit target currently at 4.5 percent of GDP.

According to sources in the Ministry of Economy, the figure is being negotiated with the EU though the EU has denied this.

Spain ended 2012 with a deficit of 6.98 percent of the country's GDP, above the target of 6.3 percent.

According to the European Commission, Spanish unemployment could reach 27 percent in 2013. Spanish Minister of Economy Luis de Guindos earlier said the GDP fall in the third quarter of 2013 would be close to zero while growing slightly in the last quarter of 2013.