Treaty allows Ireland to set its own rules for budget restraints

The European Commission has confirmed that Ireland will be allowed to tailor its own rules for the critical budget restraints built into the fiscal compact treaty.

It means Ireland, even if the treaty is passed, will not have to adopt a strict German interpretation on the controversial annual demand for a balanced budget.

Instead, the country will be able to put forward what aspects of spending can be used as part of the debt-control measure linked to the underlying structural deficit. It can also propose what can be written off as a cyclical or once-off factor.