Thread: New euro accord, 23 countries, 500 billion-euro rescue fund

Dec. 8, 2011 11:36 PM ET

Official: New euro accord to include 23 countries

DON MELVIN, Associated Press
GABRIELE STEINHAUSER, Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the European Council says a new treaty will include 17 euro states plus 6 other EU states — but not all 27 EU members.

Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, said the countries would provide up to euro200 billion ($268 billion) in extra resources to the International Monetary fund.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said early Friday he would have preferred a treaty among all the members of the EU, but he could not because of the British position. He said the new accord should be ready by March.

Sarkozy said the British proposed that they be exempted from certain financial regulation. "We could not accept this" because a lack of sufficient regulation caused the current problems, Sarkozy said.

http://hosted2.ap.org/NMSAN/90cd12eb1d2 ... 3d30e55740

EU States to Send IMF $267 Billion in New Crisis Fight

By James G. Neuger and Gregory Viscusi - Dec 8, 2011 9:24 PM PT .

European leaders added 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to their crisis-fighting warchest and tightened anti-deficit rules, seeking to lure the European Central Bank into stepping up its rescue operations.

In an accord hailed by ECB President Mario Draghi, the leaders laid out a new “fiscal compactâ€