As for solidarity, adoption of the fiscal compact is her condition for granting new bail-outs under the permanent euro-zone rescue fund coming into effect this year.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

He also wants to increase the size of the European Stability Mechanism, the zone's permanent bailout fund which will be up and running later this year.

BBC: The Greek cloud

It was also agreed that the European Stability Mechanism (the zone's permanent bailout fund that will start operating in July) could buy government bonds and drive down a country's borrowing costs.

BBC: Euro: Merkel gives concessions to Italy and Spain

But a second difficulty was Mrs Merkel's decision to reopen the deal struck just days earlier by finance ministers on how to fund a permanent rescue mechanism for the euro zone.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Summits and foreign ministers' meetings have their own permanent presidents, as do meetings of euro-zone finance ministers.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

The chancellor insisted Britain will not be part of a much larger, permanent EU bail-out fund for the euro zone being debated, and vowed to seek the winding-down of the temporary mechanism.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

Still, the impact of the permanent bailout fund was undeniable: All the euro-zone countries now will become partly responsible for their free-spending brethren.

WSJ: As Ireland Flails, Europe Lurches Across the Rubicon

Euro-zone leaders expect to conclude the treaty governing the region's permanent bailout fund at a summit Monday.

WSJ: ECB Chief Says Bank Helped Avert Disaster

The temporary will now become permanent, requiring a change to the EU treaties, with a new system under which the euro zone can in future restructure the debts of insolvent countries that share the currency.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne: The name's Bond. Eurobond | The