Eurogroup Reaches Agreement on Eurozone Reform - Head

The agreement between the EU's 27 finance ministers, without the UK, is planned to give authorities a more effective toolbox in the event of a major shock to the European economy.

'What is worth waiting for. After almost 16 hours of negotiations in the Eurogroup, we have a result — a good one. The Euro reform is taking decisive steps forward. Thanks to everyone who helped', the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wrote on his Twitter account.

Was lange währt, wird endlich gut. Nach knapp 16 Stunden Verhandlungen in der Eurogruppe haben wir ein Ergebnis — ein gutes. Die Euroreform kommt entscheidende Schritte voran. Dank allen, die mitgeholfen haben.

— Olaf Scholz (@OlafScholz) 4 декабря 2018 г.

The Eurogroup welcomed that all 19 member states had submitted Draft Budgetary Plans (DBPs) for 2019, the joint statement said.

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For several months, national governments have been thinking over a French proposal to form some sort of budget capacity for the single currency bloc that could be used in case of crises or economic shocks.

French President Emmanuel Macron has made the concept of a crisis-fighting budget for the 19-member bloc an important part of his vision to help the EU after the debt crisis, the shock of Brexit, and the rise of populists.

On 1 October, the ministers also discussed measures to strengthen the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) that was created by eurozone nations to help euro area countries suffering from economic woes.