Handful of questions remain on EU fiscal treaty

Finance ministers will next week tackle the thorny little details still to be agreed before EU countries can bless a new pact on fiscal discipline.

A fourth draft of the slim document - meant to copperfasten budgetary prudence in the EU - is to be circulated on Thursday (19 January), but most of the outstanding issues have been left for finance ministers to sort out in the hope the pact will be ready in time for an end-of-the-month EU summit.

One open question is determining the l...