HIGHLIGHTS-EU leaders' comments at summit talks

BRUSSELS Dec 9 (Reuters) - European Union leaders began to arrive on Friday for a second day of talks to try to find a solution to the euro zone debt crisis. They had paused from their summit in the early hours of the morning after hours of deliberations.

Following are highlights of comments by EU leaders and other senior officials.

Comments made on arrival for Friday's session:

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

"We made important decisions for the euro yesterday. It was about starting the fiscal and stability union. We have made good progress, especially with regards to the debt brake for all states that will be part of this new treaty and more automatic sanctions.

"We are very happy that not just the euro states, but also a number of other states, will become part of this strong fiscal discipline: the Baltic countries, Poland very important, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania and two more countries analysing this. I'm very happy with the result because we had to avoid a lousy compromise for the euro, and we have succeeded. Everybody in the world will see that we've learned from the mistakes in the past, that credibility is paramount and that European institutions such as the Commission and the European Court of Justice get more influence to ensure nations keep house well.

ON BRITAIN OPTING OUT OF DEAL:

"The British were never part of the euro, they had an opt out from the beginning, so we are familiar with the situation. We have started Schengen with a number of states and we have said in the text adopted yesterday that if the situation arises in which we can take it up in the treaties with all, as we have done with Schengen, then we will do it as soon as possible.

"...David Cameron was at the negotiating table with us, we made this decision. We couldn't make a lousy compromise for the euro but we had to set up hard rules. ... that won't deter Europe from making joint decisions in many other questions for example when welcoming Croatia as our new member."

BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER ELIO DI RUPO

"We need to have more solidarity and more growth. I think that my colleagues need to work more on budgetary rigour, but also on solidarity and growth."

ENDA KENNY, IRISH PRIME MINISTER

ON POSSIBLE DEAL REGARDING FIREWALLS TO PROTECT AGAINST CONTAGION:

"The substance of this has not been agreed. It requires to be checked and analysed by each individual country. Specifically in Ireland's case I raised the exceptional difficulty Ireland's gone through, having to borrow very extensively prior to the bailout for bank recapitalisation and the challenge that presents us and I have placed that firmly on the table."

"We made some very useful progress last night."

LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE

"We are very happy that finally the member states decided that they need to take responsibility and go ahead very, very fast. That was not the case before, the stability pact was laundered and finally now everybody agrees that it was a mistake."

BRITISH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER NICK CLEGG IN STATEMENT

"The demands Britain made for safeguards, on which the Coalition Government was united, were modest and reasonable. They were safeguards for the single market, not just the UK," he said in a statement.

"There were no demands of repatriation of powers from the EU to Britain and no demands for a unilateral carve-out of UK financial services," he added after Britain blocked proposed EU Treaty changes.

HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN PETER SZIJJARTO:

"The proposal of the eurozone states touches on issues of national sovereignty very deeply. And in Hungary, decisions on issues that touch on national sovereignty can only be taken Hungarian parliament itself.

"So that is why we will give the possibility for the Hungarian parliament to consult on the issue. The issue of joining this proposal will be on the agenda in the Hungarian parliament soon.

Since this proposal will come into power in the upcoming months, in the Hungarian parliament will have time to put this question on the agenda and have a serious and deep consultation on that."

QUESTION ON GIVING MONEY VIA IMF:

"That was not on the agenda so far"

Comments following first-day talks:

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON

ON EU INSTITUTIONS:

"These other countries are now having to go off separately from the European Union in order to create their new treaty, so we've got work hard to safeguard the single market, financial services, making sure we complete the single market. That is still the job of the Commission, of the (European) Court, of the institutions of the European Union that we belong to."

"Clearly the institutions of the European Union belong to the European Union, they belong to the 27. They're there to do the things that are set out in the treaties that we've all signed up to over the years, and that is an important protection for Britain."

ON FINANCIAL SERVICES:

"Financial services are a matter for the single market. The single market remains the key part of the European Union treaty that we are signed up to."

"Obviously, in terms of financial services, we do have concerns about what the European Commission has been doing, particularly recently. We don't think it's pro-competitive, we think it's been discriminatory."

ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL TREATY:

"I said before I came to Brussels that if I couldn't get adequate safeguards for Britain in a new European treaty, then I wouldn't agree to it. What is on offer isn't in Britain's interests, so I didn't agree to it."

"Of course we want the euro zone countries to come together and to solve their problems, but we should only allow that to happen within the European Union treaties if there are proper protections for the single market and for other key British interests.

"Without those safeguards, it is better not to have a treaty within a treaty, but to have those countries make their arrangements separately. That is what is now going to happen."

"So we will not be presenting this new treaty, when it's agreed, to our parliament. It will not involve Britain."

"I wasn't prepared to agree that treaty, to take it to my parliament in that way, and that is why I rejected signing this treaty today. The right thing for Britain, a tough decision, but the right one."

EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT HERMAN VAN ROMPUY

ON 'NEW FISCAL COMPACT':

"For the short term, we agreed on immediate action to overcome the current difficulties, and for the longer term, we agreed on a new fiscal compact for the euro zone."

"It also essential to give a medium and longer term perspective. We therefore agreed on a new fiscal compact. It means we all commit to a new European strong fiscal rule. It means member states will transpose it into their constitution or equivalent.

"It means reinforcing our rules on excessive deficit procedures by making them more automatic. It also means that member states would have to submit their draft budgetary plans to the (European) Commission.

"This was a broad agreement on the substance. As regards the form, everyone wants to make this new commitment solemnly binding."

"The conclusion is that the 17 euro zone members, plus six others, will conclude an inter-governmental treaty. Two other countries have not yet have a mandate to participate."

"An inter-governmental treaty can be approved and ratified much more rapidly than a full-fledged treaty change, and I think speed is also very important to enhance credibility."

ON REPORT TO BE PREPARED WITH EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL BARROSO AND EUROGROUP PRESIDENT JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER:

"As you know, I prepared an interim report, and it was decided tonight that with my two colleagues, I will prepare a further report in June on deepening fiscal integration."

"We took on, let us call them euro bonds to make myself a little bit understandable."

"We haven't got an agreement this night on this issue, but the euro area member states gave a mandate again to the president of the Commission, the president of the Eurogroup and the president of the European Council... to continue our work and to report on this, specifically on fiscal integration, and fiscal integration means, and I mentioned it in the meeting, the problem of mutualisation of public debt, to report on this in June."

"So we will discuss this issue again, hopefully in calmer waters and in a more serene climate."

ON GIVING THE ESM A BANKING LICENCE:

"There was no agreement on that."

ON FUNDS FOR THE IMF:

"Euro area and other member states will aim to make available additional resources of up to 200 billion euro to the IMF."

ON BRINGING THE PERMANENT ESM BAILOUT FUND INTO FORCE:

"The EFSF leverage will be rapidly deployed, and we also agreed on the acceleration of the entry into force of the ESM rescue fund. It should enter into force in July 2012."

ON LOSSES FOR BONDHOLDERS:

"As regards the so-called PSI, private sector involvement, we have made a major change to our doctrine. From now on, we will strictly adhere to the IMF principles and practices. Or (to) put it more bluntly, our first approach to PSI, which had a very negative effect on the debt markets, is now officially over."

IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR CHRISTINE LAGARDE

"We can be very pleased at the result."

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL BARROSO

ON AGREEMENT OF EURO ZONE AND OTHERS:

"We would have preferred of course a unanimous agreement, in fact, in the interim report presented by President Van Rompuy, also with my contribution and full agreement, we have put other proposals."

"This was not possible, because this required unanimity, so I think the only alternative that was left was to do it through this kind of intergovernmental treaty."

ON ROLE OF EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL TREATY:

"As regards the role of the institutions, we believe, and it's our legal advice... that it is possible for the European institutions to take part in this exercise."

"If you look at the conclusions, what is now asked from the Commission is in fact competences like we never had before, and we are determined, of course if we can do it from a legal point of view, to exercise these competences in full, so that we can reinforce these new fiscal rules."

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY

"This is a summit that will go down in history ... We would have preferred a reform of the treaties among 27 (nations). That wasn't possible, given the position of our British friends. And so it will be through an intergovernmental treaty of 17, but open to others."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

ON TREATY CHANGE:

"We have designed the treaty so that it's not just related to the 17 euro states, but so that all who want to take part can do so. That will be many countries beyond the 17 member states. Some still have to check."

ON IMPLEMENTING THE ESM PERMANENT BAILOUT FUND:

"We will move forward (the date of) the permanent ESM to gain bigger legal security and we are considering making available means as bilateral loans to the IMF to get additional security with the help of other countries that are not part of the euro.

"I believe that after long negotiations this is a very, very important result, because we have learned from the past and from mistakes and because in future (there will be) binding decisions, binding rules, more influence from the European Commission, more community and with that higher coherence."

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK PRESIDENT MARIO DRAGHI

ON AGREEMENTS REACHED IN TALKS:

"It's going to be the basis for a good fiscal compact and more discipline in economic policy in the euro area members.

"We came to conclusions that will have to be fleshed out more in the coming days."