The deal agreed by European leaders to rescue the euro will lead to ‘as many automatic sanctions as possible for countries which do not keep to monetary union rules’, prime minister Mark Rutte told the reporters at the end of Friday’s summit.

‘This is the endgame in terms of the introduction of the euro,’ Rutte said. ‘We are finally sorting out what we did not sort out at the beginning.’
Twenty-six of the 27 member states backed a tax and budget pact to tackle the eurozone debt crisis after two days of talks. Britain opted out of the deal, saying it is not in the country’s interests.
The main points of the agreement include a cap of 0.5% of GDP on countries’ annual structural deficits and ‘automatic consequences’ for countries whose public deficit exceeds 3% of GDP. These measures are also to be enshrined in member states’ constitutions.
Step forward
Finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told reporters the Brussels summit was an ‘enormous step forward’ even though the eurozone’s problems have not yet been solved.
De Jager pointed out that concrete steps still have to be worked out and put to national parliaments for approval.
Central bank chief Klaas Knot said the important issue is budgetary discipline. ‘How that happens, whether in a treaty between 17 or 27 countries, is secondary,’ he said.
Parliament
In the Netherlands, pro-European parties in parliament are disappointed with the outcome of the summit, as is the anti-Islam and staunchly anti-European PVV.
‘This is a weak deal,’ said Ronald Plasterk, the PvdA’s finance spokesman. ‘In fact, there is a tear in the European Union,’ he said, referring to Britain’s opt-out. In addition, the deal is not enough to end the European debt crisis, he said.
Alexander Pechtold, leader of the liberal democrats D66, also said the agreement is weak. He told reporters he believes the EU needs more political cooperation to solve the crisis.
Loss for the Netherlands
Britain’s decision to drop out of the deal is also a loss for the Netherlands, the Parool writes in an analysis.
‘In line with Dutch tradition, Mark Rutte tried to keep Britain on board. Britain is a good counter-weight to French and German dominance. And Rutte will miss Britain’s more Liberal approach to the economy,’ the paper says.
The Financieele Dagblad says Britain’s isolation is a sop for eurosceptic Conservatives and that the British government had not wanted to give serious support to treaty changes.
And Britain’s demand for concessions on financial sector regulation will only lead to more fireworks in the months to come, the paper says.