Tag: Fiscal compact treaty

The German constitution does not rule out giving an EU financial commissioner the power to ensure states stick to savings targets in their national budgets, the head of the Germany's top court said on Wednesday (27 February).

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.

France's Socialist-led government today (19 September) kickstarts ratification of a European Union budget discipline pact it grudgingly accepts as the next step out of the euro debt crisis. Meanwhile, another EU treaty for further political integration is already in the pipeline.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is considering an EU 'convention' to draw up a new treaty for closer European political unification and help overcome the bloc's sovereign debt crisis, the weekly Der Spiegel reported on Sunday (26 August). Merkel later denied the report.

The euro's new fiscal pact has become a political football in the Netherlands ahead of September elections, with Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager dismissing opposition suggestions it should reject the treaty.

A slim majority of French, 52%, want the new European Union budgetary treaty to go to a referendum, while 53% say they would vote yes, says a study by French market research group OpinionWay. EurActiv.fr reports.

Germany's parliament resoundingly approved the eurozone's permanent bailout scheme and new budget rules on Friday (29 June), but legal hurdles remain and Chancellor Angela Merkel's concessions to eurozone partners Italy and Spain may make those harder to overcome.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on 28-29 June to agree a roadmap for further fiscal and budgetary integration in the eurozone as well as more immediate measures to stimulate economic growth. Below is a summary of the main events leading up to the meeting, starting from the previous summit, which closed on 24 May.

Germany's Angela Merkel criticised France's economic performance on Friday (15 June), warning against "mediocrity" in tackling Europe's deepening debt crisis as discussions continued over greater fiscal and economic integration in the eurozone.

In a television interview, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the euro zone was moving inevitably towards a "political union" requiring nations to cede more sovereignty, and that would lead to more of a multi-speed Europe, with non-euro states in the slow lane.

Ireland holds the only popular vote on Europe's new fiscal treaty today (31 May), with opinion polls pointing to a 'Yes' vote that would ease concerns about its funding prospects. Unlike the Lisbon Treaty ratification, this time the Irish vote matters little for the Union.

French president-elect François Hollande met yesterday in Paris (9 May) with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy to discuss the eurozone crisis. Meanwhile, the German opposition has set its conditions: it wants the fiscal treaty, coupled with measures for growth, to be ratified on the same day in France, Germany and Italy. 

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, reflecting growing anxiety among Europeans about their economic plight, said on Thursday (3 May) that growth should be at the heart of euro zone policy but that it needed to go hand in hand with fiscal austerity.

The Dutch cabinet became the latest victim of the EU-imposed push for austerity, with liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte presenting his resignation to Queen Beatrix yesterday (23 April). The case of the Netherlands, a triple A eurozone country which is becoming prey to the markets, is raising doubts about the 'fiscal compact' merits, experts warn.

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.

The new fiscal treaty signed by European leaders a fortnight ago has become a political bargaining chip in key member states, threatening its planned ratification.

Conservative European leaders from Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain have banded together to shun the campaign of François Hollande, the socialist candidate for the presidential election in France and front-runner in the opinion polls, according to weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

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.

As EU leaders will rubber stamp the new Treaty on fiscal discipline at a summit this week (1-2 March), Swiss policymakers have tried to reassure Brussels’ counterparts that “rigid” fiscal rules and tight budget discipline will turn out to be good for Europe, as they have worked out for Switzerland.

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.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and leaders of 11 other EU countries have called on the Union's institutions to stick to a liberal agenda for growth, bolder economic integration with the USA and deepening trade and investment relations with Russia, China and other strategic partners.

As Greek bailout talks reached a dramatic turn yesterday (6 February), French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested creating an escrow account to partially reimburse the country's creditors in case of default. EurActiv France reports.