But he said the governments of eurozone members states deserved credit for the "extraordinary progress" they had made in terms of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms.
The bigger point that Mr Cable is making here is that Mr Osborne has defined his strategy in terms of the current, structural deficit: that is, borrowing that is not due simply to the weak state of the economy and that is NOT used for public investment.
Structural Funds are distributed by the European Union on a seven-year basis in order to reduce regional disparities in terms of income, wealth and opportunities.