Europe set to hit debt-ridden nations in the pocket

Crisis-hit European finance ministers took their first steps on Friday towards punishing countries that don't honour the rules on keeping national debts and deficits down, including cash penalties.
However, on the same day that the German parliament approved its share of a near trillion-dollar (750-billion-euro) eurozone rescue package, running to about 150 billion euros, ministers showed no appetite for a bid by Berlin to force heavily-indebted partners into bankruptcy.
The first meeting of a new 'task force' convened by EU president Herman Van Rompuy also left the difficult question of possible treaty changes required to craft a tough new regime of 'economic governance' across the 27-nation European Union on the back burner.

For the complete report: AFP: Europe set to hit debt-ridden nations in the pocket