European balance of power Austria which continued to rule as Holy Roman Emperor. Hapsburg Austria did directly control some states outside of the Holy Roman Empire. It was France who took the status of dominant continental power from the Habsburgs thanks to the Treaty of Westphalia and the Treaty of the Pyrenees. In the 16th and 17th centuries, English foreign policy strove to prevent a creation of a single universal monarchy in Europe, which many believed France or Spain might attempt to create. To maintain the balance of power, the English made alliances with other states—including Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, and the Netherlands—to counter
Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism eurozone states, named the "Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism", was also agreed to which established the ESM and set out the details of how it would operate. Formally, two treaties with this name were signed: one on 11 July 2011 and one on 2 February 2012. After the first turned out to be not substantial enough the second version was produced to "make it more effective". The ESM was designed to be fully compatible with existing EU law, and the European Court of Justice ruled that "the right of a Member State to conclude and ratify the ESM Treaty