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Summary France and Germany want a new EU treaty by March to deal with the eurozone debt crisis.
President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel made the announcement after crunch talks in Paris at the start of a crucial week for the euro, teetering on the brink because of its indebted member states, ahead of a key EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.The goal that we have with the chancellor is for an agreement to have been negotiated and concluded between the 17 members of the eurozone in March, because we must move quickly, Sarkozy said, warning of a forced march to reestablish confidence in the euro and the eurozone.Sarkozy said the new treaty would be either for all 27 EU members or for the 17 members of the eurozone, with other nations signing on a voluntary basis.The Franco-German proposal is to be detailed in a letter to EU president Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday, the day before the EU summit convenes in Brussels.The two leaders backed automatic sanctions against EU member states whose deficits go over three percent of gross domestic product.They also called for a reinforced and harmonised golden rule on deficits, which could oblige some states to enshrine the commitment to balance their public finances in their constitution or legislation.
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