The Maastricht framework instead focused on the one central supporting pillar: the fiscal rules designed to curb government deficit and debt levels. These rules were complemented by the no bail-out clause – that is, the principle of individual responsibility. But this pillar proved unable to provide sufficient support. The rules designed to curb government deficits didn’t have sufficient binding force.
Repeated breaches knocked more and more stones out of the “fiscal rules” pillar, with Germany bearing much of the responsibility for this. In the end, other pillars supporting the structure likewise proved to be brittle.