BRUSSELS — All European Union countries except Britain and the Czech Republic agreed Monday to sign on to a new treaty designed to stop overspending on the eurozone and put an end to the bloc’s crippling debt crisis, while also pledging to stimulate growth across the region.
The new treaty, agreed at a summit of European leaders in Brussels on Monday, is known as the fiscal compact, includes strict debt brakes and makes it more difficult for deficit sinners to escape sanctions. The 17-country eurozone hopes that the tighter rules will convince investors that all countries will get their debts under control.
“We have a majority of 25 that will now sign up to the fiscal compact,” said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
Although the new rules apply only to the 17 euro states, the currency union was hoping to get broad support from the other EU states.
Britain had already said in December that it wouldn’t sign the new treaty. Reinfeldt said the Czech Republic didn’t sign up because of parliamentary procedural problems.
The summit also promised to stimulate growth and create jobs, a tacit acknowledgment that an exclusive focus on austerity has had painful side effects. Earlier Monday, the meeting pledged to offer more training for young people to ease their transition to the workforce, deploy unused development funds to create jobs, reduce barriers to doing business across the EU’s 27 countries, and ensure that small businesses have access to credit.
