BERLIN: The Netherlands will approve a key European treaty on budget discipline in the second half of the year after completing the process of ratifying the euro zone's new permanent bailout fund, a Dutch minister said on Tuesday.
European Minister Ben Knapen said the Dutch parliament would endorse the rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), in May or early June.
"The fiscal pact will come somewhat later," he told Reuters during a visit to Berlin. "We have to make significant savings in order to bring our budget deficit down below 3 percent (of gross domestic product)."
The fiscal pact will enshrine German-style fiscal rules in the constitutions of 25 of the European Union's 27 member states as part of the bloc's efforts to overcome its debt crisis.
The Netherlands, one of the euro zone's stronger economies, is firmly in the German camp on the issue of fiscal discipline, but disagreements over how to reduce its budget deficit have threatened the stability of the minority government.
A government collapse would throw into doubt the passage of the fiscal pact in a core euro zone member state. All 25 states that have committed to the treaty must complete ratification by the end of this year.
Knapen sounded a sceptical note about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's calls for closer political union in the EU that would involve national governments ceding more decision-making powers to the European Commission in Brussels.