The Chancellery of The Prime Minister

He admitted that raising the bar high was an element of the negotiation process. - Had our conditions been more subtle, we would have achieved less - he noted.

The head of the Polish government assessed that the compromise solution concerning participation of the countries from outside the euro zone in the summits, as provided for in the fiscal pact, was not fully satisfying for Poland. The Prime Minister warned, however, not to apply the "winner - loser" rhetoric to the differing opinions of Poland and France. - There are no winners and losers, as both of us (with the president of France) agreed for the solution - he noted, admitting, however, that the Monday’s discussion was "quite brutal" at times.

The compromise reached assumes that countries from outside the euro zone that will ratify the new treaty "should participate in summits devoted to competitiveness and changes in the euro group’s architecture, and, if advisable, in deliberations concerning implementation of the treaty, at least once a year" - said Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, after the summit. He also declared that prior to each summit attended by 17 euro group states he convenes, a EU summit or a fiscal pact summit will be held, unless extraordinary circumstances require otherwise.

In the opinion of Prime Minister Tusk the institutional formula of the EU has been defended and the principle of community has not been violated. It was also important for Poland to support other leaders "in their efforts aimed at protecting the euro zone". The head of the Polish government underlined that the scope of issues that euro zone summits may be devoted to has been limited, and the issue of competitiveness, for instance, concerning the entire EU, cannot be debated by the euro group alone.

 - There is one more declaration, important from the Polish point of view, made by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, who also acts, in the meaning of the fiscal pact, as the head of the euro zone. He stated that the agenda of each of the meetings would be consulted with the participants of the fiscal pact - said the Prime Minister.

25 states have already declared that they would sign the fiscal pact. The two countries that are not interested are Great Britain and the Czech Republic. As Donald Tusk explained, the Czech prime minister Petr Neczas was afraid of the ratification process which requires the signature of the Czech president, who "is not among the pact’s enthusiasts". Donald Tusk noted that ratification and implementation of the pact may pose a problem for those governments that do not enjoy a parliamentary majority.

The treaty is to be signed at the European Union summit in March. The pact will enter into effect on January 1, 2013, assuming that it will have been ratified, by that time, by 12 out of 17 members of the euro zone.