26 EU States Consider Joining New Euro Zone Treaty

Published: Friday, 9 Dec 2011 | 8:56 AM ET

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By: Reuters with CNBC.com

All EU countries except one are ready to join the 17 members of the euro zone to draft a new intergovernmental treaty for deeper fiscal union aimed at tackling the sovereign debt crisis, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Friday.

Photo: Ken Sciciuna | Getty Images

Twenty-six of the 27 EU leaders agreed to pursue tighter integration with stricter budget discipline in the single currency area, but Britain said it could not accept proposed EU treaty amendments after failing to secure concessions.

The decision appears to isolate Britain even more markedly as the only one of the 10 non-euro-zone countries in the EU not to agree to join the treaty change.

The outcome of a two-day European Union summit left financial markets uncertain whether and when more decisive action would be taken to stem a debt crisis that began in Greece, spread to Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain and now threatens France and even economic powerhouse Germany.

A new treaty could take three months to negotiate and may require referendums in some countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a press conference in Brussels following the summit that there was no indication that Britain could change its mind on treaty change.

Merkel also said EU leaders had decided to give EU institutions greater responsibility.