Tag: Fiscal compact treaty

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.

EU leaders tend to argue that the newly agreed fiscal compact is a step towards a fiscal union, while in reality the future of the eurozone remains in limbo, argues Philip Whyte.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, facing the first round of elections this weekend, said in a campaign speech yesterday (15 April) that he wanted to open a debate on extending the mandate of the European Central Bank (ECB) to support economic growth.

Ireland will hold its referendum on the European Union's new fiscal treaty on 31 May in what will probably be the bloc's only popular vote on plans for stricter budget discipline.

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.

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.

Only one country is opposed to give observer status to Eastern European non-eurozone countries in the new intergovernmental 'fiscal compact' treaty, diplomats told EurActiv. EU leaders meet on Monday (30 January) to agree on the treaty on tighter fiscal rules to preserve the eurozone from new crises.