Portugal today became the first state to approve the Fiscal Compact. 25 of the 27 EU Member states signed up to the tightened budget rules. The United Kingdom and the Czech Republic are the only two not to sign up. It is interesting that Portugal were first to approve the treaty as they were the third country to get a bailout of the EU/ECB/IMF after Ireland and Greece.
The Portuguese Government were supported by the opposition Socialists in passing the pact which was approved by 204 votes to 24, with two abstentions.
Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told parliament that the pact represented a “moment of confirmation of the European consensus”
Antonio José Seguro, the Socialist leader, said: “This treaty is vital to Portugal staying in the euro.”
Mr Seguro said: “This treaty may be a response to markets, but it is not a response to the crisis and to the problems of Portuguese, to unemployment. It is an unbalanced treaty.”
Mr Seguro raises some valid points as the Pact also does not deal with issues of Bank Debt but it is part of a number of initiatives to try and fix the Crisis in the Eurozone.
Ireland will be voting on the Fiscal Compact on May 31st. Ireland will be the only country to hold a referendum on the pact.
Don’t forget you can read the Fiscal Compact here
Related articles
- Fiscal Compact campaign (williamquill.com)
- Ireland to vote on Fiscal Compact (stephenspillane.com)
- Portugal ratifies European fiscal treaty (FT.com)
- Portugal first to approve EU fiscal pact (bbc.co.uk)
