Spectre of treaty change accompanies new eurozone agreement

Eurozone finance chiefs have backed new rules for stricter fiscal discipline, including automatic penalties. Meanwhile, France and Germany have spoken out in favour of a permanent bail-out fund that would require a change to the EU treaties.

Under the previous set-up, eurozone governments which flouted rules limiting the size of their public deficit could only be sanctioned following a majority decision by their peers. As a result, scofflaws regularly got away without punishment.

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