EU leaders yesterday agreed on a slight amendment to the Lisbon Treaty enabling the eurozone to have a permanent bailout fund as from mid-2013.

The fund, set up on the insistence of Germany and France, will replace the current €750 billion fund that was agreed upon temporarily last May in the wake of the financial crisis hitting Greece and followed by Ireland. Both eurozone member states had to be bailed out by EU members amid fears their fallout would affect other members of the euro area and the overall stability of the euro.

Speaking to the press at the end of the first session of the summit yesterday evening in Brussels, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the agreement would send a strong signal to the financial markets that the EU would continue to do all it can to defend its monetary system.

“This is also in the interest of Malta as our economy depends a lot on stability,” Dr Gonzi said.

In order to set up this mechanism, the 27 member states agreed on a small change to the treaty, using the so-called simplified procedure so that it can be ratified only through national parliaments, avoiding the need of referenda.

Following the agreement, the text of the treaty change will have to be sent to the European Parliament, the Commission and the European Central Bank for their opinion, after which the change will be formally approved by the European Council in March.

The summit, which ends today, is expected to declare Montenegro an official EU candidate. Malta already signalled its agreement with this decision.