Protagonists each claim satisfaction with accord

Both parties in the dispute over the European Commission's plan to give early warnings to Portugal and Germany because of their rising budget deficits claimed satisfaction on 12 February 2002. The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Pedro Solbes, said that a compromise, agreed on 12 February, whereby the policies of Germany and Portugal were not subject to a vote of Member States in return for their giving commitments to control their public deficits, fulfilled the Commission's economic policy objectives. Germany hailed the unanimous agreement of Member States on the compromise as a 'clear strengthening of the Stability and Growth Pact'.