EU stability pact hits rocky ground

Few agreements have been quite so poorly named as the stability pact, the treaty that limits the bud...

Few agreements have been quite so poorly named as the stability pact, the treaty that limits the budget deficits of the 12 countries sharing the euro. There has not been much evidence of stability. And now it is not even a pact anymore. The agreement, which has existed since 1996, was suspended after France and Germany breached the cap of 3% of gross domestic product and the new version has now finally started to take shape. In theory, there will still be limits on how much governments are permitted to borrow. In reality, so many exceptions are now allowed that the restrictions are me...