Ireland faces future fines under EU budget rules

IRELAND and other eurozone countries will be fined in future for breaking budget rules, but the country is also facing a possible referendum as France and Germany say they want even stiffer penalties.

EU finance ministers signed off last night on the biggest change to the single currency since it’s introduction, agreeing to massively tighten oversight of each other’s economies.

The surveillance will go well beyond the current rules on keeping government deficits to below 3% of GDP and debt to below 60%.