EU agreement puts Lisbon Treaty under the spotlight

EU leaders are drawing their summit in Brussels to a close today in the knowledge that they have secured an agreement for changes to the bloc's main treaty to help shore up Europe's defences against any new financial crises.

They endorsed tougher budget rules, including sanctions on states that do not keep deficits and debt in check.

But Berlin failed to win widespread support for demands to suspend the voting rights of member states which breach the rules.

“The idea for creating a permanent bailout fund which is what the European leaders have decided to do, to me it’s comical… because the European Union is supposed to operate on a no bailout clause”, says the Director of the Rome based Acton Institute for the study of religion and liberty, Kishore Jayabalan about the agreement.

He adds “what you are doing with a permanent bailout fund is creating a debt union”.
Listen here for Kishore Jayabalan interview with Lydia O'Kane.