About the new euro treaty

European leaders closed a pivotal week Friday with an agreement in principle to join a new treaty that would force all but one European Union nation into common budget discipline and would empower E.U. courts to enforce the new rules. Here are some answers about the pact and what it means for the United States:

Q What exactly was the pact?

A The treaty would limit government budget deficits to 3 percent of a nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy. It would restrict government debt to no more than 60 percent of GDP and would limit the structural deficit to no more than 0.5 percent of GDP. It wasn't immediately clear when countries would have to meet these targets, but the European Court of Justice would be authorized to enforce automatic penalties if a country violates the rules.

Q Doesn't this require treaty changes in the charter of the European Union?

A That's one of the rubs. Because it would be hard to get 27 national legislative bodies to pass this, the decision was made to opt instead for an intergovernmental pact binding upon acceptance by governmental leaders. Three E.U. governments that said they liked the pact -- Hungary, the Czech Republic and Sweden -- cautioned that they would need to consult their parliaments before accepting it as binding. Thus, this pact isn't nearly as leak-proof as a treaty change, which would carry much more weight, much as a U.S. constitutional amendment would. Future elected governments might decide they don't like the pact or no longer want to cede power to E.U. bureaucrats, and ignore it.

Q Why should Americans care?

A Beyond cultural and historical ties, we share enormous trade and investment with the E.U. Problems there hurt growth here. U.S. exports, one of the few bright spots of the U.S. recovery, already are struggling as Europe enters what economists think is a mild recession. If a large E.U. economy such as Spain or Italy sees its problems worsen, it could lead to the kind of global financial meltdown seen after the 2008 failure of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. "Italy blowing up would be as bad as Lehman Brothers, and we all know what happened there," Jay Bryson, a global economist with Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group, said Thursday.

A The pact is notable for what it didn't do as much as for what it did do, said Nariman Behravesh, the chief economist for forecaster IHS Global Insight: "It doesn't increase the size of the bailout fund. It doesn't solve the issue of what happens to Italy, to Greece. It's [just] a step forward in the long road ahead." European leaders have been trying to create a massive bailout fund -- at one point envisioned at more than $1 trillion -- to backstop struggling governments in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.

The governments did agree to give up $268 billion in additional resources to the International Monetary Fund, which would be used to help European economies achieve fiscal discipline. As an outside agency, the IMF can impose strings on loans that E.U. nations might find politically unacceptable to impose on their neighbors.

Q What are the political ramifications of the deal?

A The idea of an integrated Europe appears to have been strengthened. This is of great importance to Germany, Europe's economic engine, which has been cautious in wielding power because of its Nazi past. "It's a type of integration that makes European integration more German in a number of ways," said Christopher Chivvis, a political scientist and Europe expert at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "For Germany, this is pretty clearly a victory ... even if it's imperfect." E.U. members now will strive for German-like budget discipline and shun large debts.

Q What about Great Britain since London is the financial center of Europe?