الرئيسية
LONDON (AP) — A deal to get almost all EU countries to tie their
economies closer together received some support in the markets on
Friday, even though European leaders failed to reach unanimity on the
plan, with Britain opposing the plan.
Following the summit, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed Britain was the only country in the
27-nation European Union to hold out against supporting the new treaty.
The
new treaty will penalize overspending governments in a bid to avoid a
repeat of Europe's debt crisis. Germany and France, the two biggest
economies in the 17-nation eurozone, had hoped to persuade the whole
European Union to back a change to the current EU treaty. Britain's
refusal means they will have to settle for a new intergovernmental
agreement instead.
Following losses in Asia and an early retreat in Europe, market sentiment improved somewhat.
"The
principle of a strong commitment to a new 'fiscal compact' — tough
discipline and sanctions in case rules are breached — and stronger
coordination of economic policies has been established," said Herve
Goulletquer, an analyst at Credit Agricole. "This is a significant step
forward. What markets want now is to be sure that it will work. The
devil is too often in the detail."
In Europe, Germany's DAX was up
1.5 percent at 5,963 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.9 percent to
3,154. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.6 percent
higher at 5,516. The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3363.
economies closer together received some support in the markets on
Friday, even though European leaders failed to reach unanimity on the
plan, with Britain opposing the plan.
Following the summit, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed Britain was the only country in the
27-nation European Union to hold out against supporting the new treaty.
The
new treaty will penalize overspending governments in a bid to avoid a
repeat of Europe's debt crisis. Germany and France, the two biggest
economies in the 17-nation eurozone, had hoped to persuade the whole
European Union to back a change to the current EU treaty. Britain's
refusal means they will have to settle for a new intergovernmental
agreement instead.
Following losses in Asia and an early retreat in Europe, market sentiment improved somewhat.
"The
principle of a strong commitment to a new 'fiscal compact' — tough
discipline and sanctions in case rules are breached — and stronger
coordination of economic policies has been established," said Herve
Goulletquer, an analyst at Credit Agricole. "This is a significant step
forward. What markets want now is to be sure that it will work. The
devil is too often in the detail."
In Europe, Germany's DAX was up
1.5 percent at 5,963 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.9 percent to
3,154. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.6 percent
higher at 5,516. The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3363.