Franco-German hopes for a sweeping new treaty to bind the region's economies more closely came under strain, as several European Union leaders warned of difficulties pushing a far-reaching pact through their national parliaments.
The pressure was particularly acute in non-eurozone countries, where at least four governments warned that the precise legal text would determine whether they could sign up to the treaty or otherwise join the UK on the sidelines.
Officials in several of those countries said their most pressing concern was whether the new rules giving Brussels powers to police national budgets would be binding only to eurozone governments or to all signatories. “Right now, there is not much more than a blank sheet of paper and even the name of the future treaty might still change”, said Petr Necas, the prime minister of the Czech Republic. “I think that it would be politically short-sighted to come out with strong statements that we should sign that piece of paper.”
Even inside the 17-member eurozone, cracks emerged, with Irish opposition leaders calling on Enda Kenny, prime minister, to allow a referendum on the new pact – a vote that would almost certainly fail – and pro-EU opposition parties in the Netherlands attacking the minority government of Mark Rutte, prime minister, for his handling of the deal.
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