Tag: Fiscal compact treaty

France is open to the idea of a new European Union treaty to deepen integration if it is deemed necessary for new "solidarity" mechanisms in the bloc such as debt mutualisation, said French Minister for European Affairs Bernard Cazeneuve.

European lawmaker Daniel Cohn-Bendit revoked his membership of the French Greens on Sunday (23 September) in protest at the party's decision to oppose the ratification of the European Union's budget discipline pact.

Shared responsibility and solidarity are the two key words that will steer the European debate in the coming years as the European Union slowly moves towards a federal model, writes Didier Reynders.

The European Commission today (14 August) downplayed any risk of a substantial delay in Germany’s final approval of the eurozone's permanent bailout fund despite efforts to postpone a ruling on its legality.

EU heads of states and government would be well advised to announce which strategy for the eurozone they would like to endorse for the next 10 to 20 years, writes Renaud Thillaye, saying three options are on the table: An 'insurance-adjustment' strategy, a smaller eurozone or a fiscal federation.

José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, has called on EU heads of state to "articulate the vision of where Europe must go" at a summit this week, saying this could lead to further treaty changes and, eventually, a two-speed Union. EurActiv reveals details of proposals that will be circulated among EU leaders on 28-29 June.

The financial and economic ills afflicting Europe would be treated more effectively if those who govern the Union - in fact, national leaders gathered at EU summits - were not themselves suffering from amnesia, writes Alain Lamassoure.

Liberal MEP Andrew Duff, a leading federalist, is urging EU leaders at their 28-29 June summit to consider building a political union with, “at least initially”, a core group of countries forming a vanguard under a new treaty.

According to government sources, Ireland's referendum on the EU's new fiscal treaty is likely to pass by a margin of more than three to two, but with a turnout as low as 50%. Unlike the Lisbon Treaty ratification, this time the Irish vote matters little for the Union.

Even after the victory of socialist François Hollande, German Chancellor Merkel and politicians of her conservative CDU fiercely refuse renegotiating the fiscal pact. But there could be a way to compromise, as Hollande receives support from Italian premier Mario Monti.

A high-ranking member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition has said that they are ready to accept “rhetorical” changes to the EU' fiscal compact treaty in case of a victory of socialist candidate François Hollande in the French presidential elections. 

François Hollande, the Socialist candidate and apparent front-runner in the French presidential election, suffered a blow as Portugal became the first EU country to ratify the 'fiscal compact' treaty that is designed to enforce stricter budget discipline in the eurozone.

The campaign manager of François Hollande, the socialist candidate in the French presidential election who currently leads in opinion polls, has backed away from previous demands to radically "renegotiate" the EU's fiscal discipline treaty.

European Union leaders wrestled on Thursday (1 March) with the balance between budget austerity and reviving lost growth at the first summit for two years in which the eurozone debt crisis did not eclipse all else.

The current Treaty needs to be renegotiated to integrate the growth and solidarity dimension, which has been overlooked, said French socialist MEP Liêm Hoang Ngoc, in an interview with EurActiv.

EU leaders agreed yesterday (30 January) a treaty on tighter fiscal rules to preserve the eurozone from new crises. But the Czech Republic said it would not sign it for now due to ratification difficulties, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country is unlikely to ratify before the 6 May presidential election.

The new fiscal compact came a step closer to final agreement yesterday (12 January) following a deal struck by European Council officials and disgruntled MEPs who had slammed the latest draft of the treaty a day earlier.