Related News
EU pact tobe settled by March
Source: Agencies |
December 14, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A PACT among up to 26 European Union countries to enforce stricter budget rules and win back confidence in the eurozone will be finalized by March 2012, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said yesterday.
EU diplomats hope the first draft of a fiscal treaty for the 17 nations that use the euro and nine other EU countries will be ready next week.
Many of the EU's mechanisms for imposing discipline on profligate debtor countries took effect yesterday, but details on how to activate automatic sanctions in the new intergovernmental treaty still need to be decided.
Twenty-six EU member states - all of them apart from Britain - agreed at a summit last week that they would pursue deeper fiscal integration as part of efforts to tackle the debt crisis.
"Early March at the latest, this fiscal compact treaty will be signed," Van Rompuy told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Several non-eurozone countries, including Sweden, Hungary and the Czech Republic, still need parliamentary approval before they can give their backing.
Diplomats say this is largely a formality, but eurozone assets have lost ground since the summit, reflecting investor disappointment that leaders failed to agree more immediate steps to tackle the crisis. The EU's aim is to have the treaty ratified by June.
Van Rompuy said a review of the adequacy of the 500-billion euro ceiling on the eurozone's combined bailout funds will also be completed by March. The so-called fiscal compact is designed to allow closer surveillance of countries' spending, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the debt crisis and which may allow the European Central Bank to step up purchases of distressed eurozone debt.
EU diplomats hope the first draft of a fiscal treaty for the 17 nations that use the euro and nine other EU countries will be ready next week.
Many of the EU's mechanisms for imposing discipline on profligate debtor countries took effect yesterday, but details on how to activate automatic sanctions in the new intergovernmental treaty still need to be decided.
Twenty-six EU member states - all of them apart from Britain - agreed at a summit last week that they would pursue deeper fiscal integration as part of efforts to tackle the debt crisis.
"Early March at the latest, this fiscal compact treaty will be signed," Van Rompuy told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Several non-eurozone countries, including Sweden, Hungary and the Czech Republic, still need parliamentary approval before they can give their backing.
Diplomats say this is largely a formality, but eurozone assets have lost ground since the summit, reflecting investor disappointment that leaders failed to agree more immediate steps to tackle the crisis. The EU's aim is to have the treaty ratified by June.
Van Rompuy said a review of the adequacy of the 500-billion euro ceiling on the eurozone's combined bailout funds will also be completed by March. The so-called fiscal compact is designed to allow closer surveillance of countries' spending, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the debt crisis and which may allow the European Central Bank to step up purchases of distressed eurozone debt.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
