THE ONLY THING THEY DO EFFICIENTLY (via Robert Schwartz):

Death of a pact (Financial Times, March 22 2005)

This March, they came to bury the stability pact, not to praise it - and they did so with ruthless efficiency.

European finance ministers finally agreed to relax the enforcement procedures of the pact, which underpins fiscal policy in the European Union. In fact, they weakened it so fundamentally as to render it practically worthless. The original idea behind the pact was to ensure long-term sustainability of public finances in the eurozone. The old pact has failed to achieve this. The new one does not even try.

Officially, the strict nominal anchors of the pact remain in place, including the maximum 3 per cent deficit-to-gross domestic product ratio, and the 60 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio. But in reality, the agreement effectively raises the maximum allowed deficit-to-GDP ratio to at least 3.5 per cent - possibly close to 4 per cent - depending on how finance ministers define a number that is still "close to the reference value". "Due consideration" will be given to three ill-defined spending categories: international aid; European policy goals; and European unity.