PRIME Minister Iveta Radičová signed the EU fiscal compact on March 2 together with 24 other leaders of EU member states. Great Britain and the Czech Republic are the only two EU countries that have refused to sign the treaty, the Sme daily reported.
“The guarantee of compliance with the fiscal treaty is the system of sanctions and regular monitoring of countries,” Radičová stated, as quoted by Sme.
Radičová criticised the decision by the Czech Republic not to sign the pact, saying that political reasons rather than economic ones were behind the decision, Sme wrote.
The treaty was drawn up in a short period of time to give the EU more control over national budgets as a method to calm financial markets in the wake of the continent’s sovereign debt crisis.
Budgets prepared by national governments signatory to the treaty will be reviewed by the European Commission before they are presented to national parliaments. The treaty also introduces automatic sanctions against countries if their state debt exceeds 60 percent of GDP.
