Zamora, Spain  - Spain and Portugal on Thursday stressed the need for social policies and protection of employment during the ongoing economic crisis.

The labour market and welfare state must not be made to pay for the deficient functioning of the international financial system, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said at a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates.

The two Socialist premiers as well as 12 Spanish and 13 Portuguese ministers attended a bilateral summit in Zamora, northern Spain.