A new European treaty to regulate stricter adherence to eurozone financial rules will not be as ambitious as the Dutch cabinet had hoped, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager said in a briefing to MPs.

For example, the draft treaty does not give the significant role to the European court as hoped, and the removal of voting rights from countries which break the rules is not a sanction, the minister says.
Nevertheless, the treaty is a good step in the right direction to improve monetary union, De Jager, and junior foreign affairs minister Ben Knapen said in the briefing.
EU member states reached broad agreement on the treaty at a summit in December and are now finalising the details.
The Volkskrant says European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is also unhappy at the results booked so far and wants a greater role for EU institutions in ensuring monetary union rules are kept.