EU leaders agreed stricter budget rules for the euro zone on Friday, but failed to secure changes to the EU treaty among all 27 member states, meaning a deal will instead have to involve just euro zone states and any others that want to join.
After 10 hours of talks there was little concrete progress among the leaders, apart from their commitment to work towards a new "fiscal compact" -- the term used for a tougher deficit and debt regime to insulate the euro zone against the debt crisis.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called the decision a step forward for the "fiscal compact" he has said is necessary if the 17-nation euro zone is to emerge stronger from two years of market turmoil.
"It's going to be the basis for a good fiscal compact and more discipline in economic policy in the euro area members," Draghi said as he left the summit. "We came to conclusions that will have to be fleshed out more in the coming days."
In the run-up to the summit, Draghi's use of the term "fiscal compact" had spurred hopes that the ECB would be prepared to engage in massive buying of bonds from distressed euro zone states, an interpretation he subsequently questioned.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had wanted to get the whole EU to agree to change the Lisbon treaty so that stricter budget and debt rules for eurozone states could be enshrined in the bloc's basic law.
But Britain, which is outside the euro zone, refused to back the move, saying it wanted guarantees in a protocol protecting its financial services industry. Sarkozy described British Prime Minister David Cameron's demand as unacceptable.
As a result, Sarkozy and Merkel said the intention was now to forge an intergovernmental treaty among the euro zone countries and any others that wanted to join. They indicated that could be up to 25 countries in all, with only Britain and perhaps Hungary left outside the tent for now.
"This is a summit that will go down in history," said Sarkozy. "We would have preferred a reform of the treaties among 27. That wasn't possible given the position of our British friends. And so it will be through an intergovernmental treaty of 17, but open to others."
Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council and the chairman of the summit, focused on the success in securing agreement for tighter fiscal limits, including the need for countries to bring budgets close to balance.
"It means reinforcing our rules on excessive deficit procedures by making them more automatic. It also means that member states would have to submit their draft budgetary plans to the (European) Commission," he said.
On treaty change, Van Rompuy said the new treaty would involve the euro zone and at least six other countries, with two more waiting for a mandate to participate.
"An inter-governmental treaty can be approved and ratified much more rapidly than a full-fledged treaty change, and I think speed is also very important to enhance credibility," he said.
Relacionados
- Economía/Transportes.- Casi un millón de viajeros pasarán por el aeropuerto de Barajas en lo que resta de puente
- Casi un millón de viajeros pasarán por el aeropuerto de Barajas en lo que resta de puente
- Iberia deberá indemnizar a los viajeros que sufran pérdidas económicas, según FACUA
- CEA considera "una barbaridad" la huelga en Iberia y critica que sólo el anuncio retrae la demanda de viajeros
- Casi un millón de viajeros pasarán por el aeropuerto de Barajas en lo que resta de puente
