Shape of eurozone deal emerges

Leading players in the eurozone debt negotiations – Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Mario Monti, Mario Draghi, and Herman Van Rompuy – seem to be singing from the same song-sheet ahead of next week’s summit, says the FT. Essential details, however, are still the subject of intense negotiations that could run right up to the EU summit on December 9, not just between France and Germany, but with the European Commission – the EU executive – and smaller member states.  The deal involves accelerated agreement on what Mr Draghi described on Thursday in the European parliament as a “fiscal compact” between the 17 eurozone members to enforce much stricter budget discipline and debt control throughout the monetary union. The other two elements are agreement on a reinforced firewall to prevent contagion from one eurozone country to the next; and tough national measures in the most debt-laden states to restore confidence in the markets. Mr Draghi’s blessing for the three-pillar combination is critical, and the ECB president hinted in his Thursday speech that the “fiscal compact” could pave the way for a more agressive ECB approach, reports the FT separately.