Webremix Articles

25 EU members to join fiscal treaty

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:50:02 GMT

All but two of the 27 European Union (EU) member states are to sign a new fiscal treaty designed to enshrine tighter deficit and debt discipline, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has said.

EU leaders agree on new fiscal agreement

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:50:04 GMT

A total of 25 European Union member states would join and sign a new fiscal treaty designed to enshrine tighter deficit and debt discipline, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said here Mond

EU bids to bury deficits, end Greek debt drama

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:21:00 GMT

EU leaders closed one chapter in the debt crisis late yesterday with a new treaty supposed to end deficits -- then launched a big final push to resolve Greece's bailout woes. European Union president Herman Van Rompuy called for a new deal with Athens "by the end of the week" on the conditions underpinning the long-delayed second bailout for Greece. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos went immediately into post-summit talks with top officials from the EU and the European Central Bank (ECB). In October last year, Greece was promised a second bailout of 130 billion euros ($171 billion) if it could convince private investors to write off 100 billion euros of debt. That deal is still to be finalised, as is a reassessment of Greece's debt sustainability. Eurozone partners' handling of the Greece issue in the intervening months reached a nadir when Germany at the weekend suggested placing the Athens government under wardenship. "It would not be reasonable, not democratic and not efficient," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said of the plan put to finance ministries. Greece's education minister had called the idea "the...

25 of 27 EU states join fiscal pact

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:03:00 GMT

All EU nations except Britain and the Czech Republic agreed at a summit last night to join a fiscal pact aimed at preventing future debt crises. EU president Herman Van Rompuy said: "25 member states join and will sign the fiscal compact." Britain had already refused to join the pact in December while officials said the Czech Republic indicated that it must first secure ratification back home before it can take part. The pact, pushed by Germany, will require governments to introduce laws on balanced budgets and impose near automatic sanctions on countries that violate deficit rules. An agreement emerged after France and Poland overcame a dispute over Polish demands for non-euro nations to have a seat at eurozone summits. The treaty must be formally signed in early March and will come into force once 12 nations have ratified it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy voiced suprise at Prague's U-turn on the pact after the country had backed the project at the December summit. "Why is it that something acceptable in December no long is today?" Sarkozy said at a post-summit press conference.

EU urges UN Security Council to react swiftly on Syria

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:35:11 GMT

BRUSSELS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- "A swift reaction by the United Nations Security Council is urgently needed" over situation in Syria, said Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council on Monday. "I urge all members of the UN Security Council to assume their responsibilities in relation to the situation in Syria," he said "and adopt steps long overdue in order to bring an end to the repression in Syria." According to Van Rompuy's statement, the leaders of the European Union (EU) f ...

EU summit opens amid rift over Greece

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:49:00 GMT

European Union leaders opened their first summit of 2012 this afternoon, overshadowed by a new row over how to save Greece after Germany suggested placing the country's budget under EU control. The meeting of 27 EU heads of state and government - including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi - is mainly aimed at finalising a new pact to toughen budget discipline and finding ways to jumpstart growth and create jobs as recession looms large over Europe. "Our topics in the meeting address the concerns of our citizens: more and better jobs, especially for young people, economic growth," EU president Herman Van Rompuy said after ringing a little golden bell to open the meeting. "We have worked hard to overcome the crisis. We have made considerable progress, but we are not yet at the end of the road," he said. "We must continue to bring down public debt and to stabilise the eurozone while at the same time securing growth and jobs." Leaders, some facing imminent re-election campaigning, must contend with an unemployment rate averaging 10 percent across the 17-nation eurozone. Ideas include lowering the tax burden on employers to get more...

The gloves are off ahead of EU summit

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:00:35 GMT