First session of the EU summit: Agreement on immediate action and on new fiscal rule for the eurozone

At the first working session of the European Council of 8 and 9 December, an agreement was reached on short-term action to overcome the debt crisis and on a new fiscal compact for the euro area.

At a press conference Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, explained the short-term measures. Up to €200 billion will be made available to the IMF, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) leverage “will be rapidly deployed” and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) should enter into force in July 2012.

For the medium and longer term, the 17 eurozone countries and six others, Bulgaria, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, will conclude an inter-governmental treaty. This fiscal compact, to be signed no later than March 2012, will establish a new, stronger fiscal rule, including more automatism in the excessive deficit procedure. The Czech Republic and Sweden do not yet have a mandate to participate.

The governance of the euro area will also be reinforced by holding regular euro summits at least twice a year.

On the second day, the heads of state or government will continue the discussion on the above-mentioned issues and will debate economic policies, energy, enlargement and external relations.

Sursa: Consiliul European