The move has increased the likelihood of Portugal following Ireland and Greece in seeking a loan from the European Union to alleviate its debt crisis.
However, the summit, which focused on economic governance, the war in Libya and the crisis in Japan, was more positive than many had feared from a Council dominated by right-wing leaders.
Although the headline decision was approval of the treaty change to establish a permanent European Stability Mechanism, a commitment to the Europe 2020 strategy should strengthen the position of the centre-left on the six legislative proposals to revise the Stability and Growth Pact.
This strategy requires EU countries to implement policies to tackle unemployment and increase spending on education, training, research and innovation. With the centre-right European People’s Party and right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament opposed to including these commitments in the economic governance package, their agreement by the Council indicates strong negotiating by socialist and social democrat governments.
