Eurozone ‘agrees in principle’ on policy co-ordination
Baku, March 12 (AZERTAC). Eurozone leaders have reached an agreement in principle on a pact to co-ordinate economic policies, EU President Herman Van Rompuy has said.
Other elements of the package were still under discussion, he added.
Eurozone leaders are in Brussels to try to find a way out of the debt crisis that has dogged the region for more than a year.
Earlier, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou had called for Europe to take "strong decisions".
In a message on Twitter, Mr. Van Rompuy had initially said: "We have an agreement on the Pact for Euro."
The message was later amended to: "Update from ongoing meeting: Agreement in principle on the Pact for the Euro, but still discussing the other elements of the package."
A pact would give members a say over each other`s major economic policies - a move aimed at keeping countries under firm fiscal discipline.
Any agreement would need to be endorsed at a summit of all 27 EU states on 24-25 March.
Also under discussion at the meeting is a new permanent, extended replacement for the 440bn-euro (£379bn; $614bn) bail-out fund.
The markets most keenly want to see signs of progress on the establishment of the new European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
At 500bn euros, this will have double the effective lending capacity of the current European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which was used in the bail-out of the Republic of Ireland.
Earlier, Greek PM Mr Papandreou had said his country - the first to need bailing out by its eurozone partners and others - had done all it could, and now needed collective action.
"On the financial eurozone crisis, we are on top of our programme, we have taken the pain to make our economy viable, but now we need European decisions - strong European decisions - to calm the market."
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