Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European budgetary treaty could be submitted to the French parliament for ratification at the end of September as part of an extraordinary session, according to what French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told the Socialist party in the National Assembly on Tuesday 17 July.
The MPs and senators may have to give their opinion on this treaty “a few days before the return to work after the summer recess” on 1 October, Ayrault stated, as reported to AFP by those present and confirmed by the prime minister's staff. The treaty on “the stability, coordination and governance in European economic and monetary union”, which was signed on 2 March, targets strengthening budgetary discipline in the eurozone. At the end of June, President François Hollande had said that he would quickly submit to the parliament “all the decisions” adopted at the European summit, among which was the fiscal compact. Hollande has involved the Constitutional Court, which will have to state whether ratification of the treaty requires prior reform of the French Constitution. It is also provided for the budgetary golden rule, which is contained in this treaty, not to be written into the Constitution. The budgetary treaty provides for this golden rule to take the form of “binding and permanent arrangements, by preference constitutional” or in any case whose “full respect” is “guaranteed”. (LC/transl.fl)