"Twenty-five of the EU's 27 member states have signed a landmark treaty to co-ordinate their budget policies and impose penalities on rule-breakers - the "fiscal compact. The Czech Republic and the UK opted out of the legally binding treaty. In December EU leaders, desperate to avoid a re-run of the 2007-2008 credit crunch, sought an accord involving all 27 states - the 17 in the euro and 10 outside the euro. But after lengthy talks a UK veto meant that the others agreed to a seperate eurozone pact." (Quoted from article)