One day to go until the crucial EU summit and the media is littered with contradictory views, from cheerful optimism to bleak warnings of doom. France has promised a “powerful” pact, while German officials have been cautious and even pessimistic about the chances of the summit providing a definitive answer to the eurozone problem.

Against this backdrop an interim report leaked today (December 7) from European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who will chair the summit, suggests that a new treaty may not be necessary. Echoing calls from many voices involved in the eurozone, fiscal union and tighter controls are again urged in the document, “it is necessary to implement quickly and decisively both the measures already adopted and other qualitative changes to a real fiscal union'. This will require greatly enhanced coordination of economic policies and a higher degree of supervision and discipline in the conduct of national policies.” Van Rompuy's report details existing policies and agreements and emphasizes the need to effectively implement and enforce them.

He goes on to give an alternative to a new treaty by achieving a “new fiscal pact” via a review of Protocol 12 annexed to the already existing treaty. This, explains Von Rompuy, would be faster and would not require the ratification of a new treaty at a national level in the EU. He concluded the proposal with “Amendments to Protocol 12 can be introduced by a decision of the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament and the European Central Bank. Such a decision does not require ratification at national level. This procedure could therefore lead to rapid and economically sensitive changes.”

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com 

(photo source: European Council)