A verdict by Germany's top court that may determine the fate of eurozone rescue efforts will be handed down this week as planned, judges said Tuesday, rejecting a call for a postponement.
The Federal Constitutional Court said it would deliver as
scheduled Wednesday its decision on the new 700-billion-euro
(895-billion-dollar) bailout fund - the European Stability Mechanism
(ESM).
The ESM was to start operating in July, but its launch was delayed
by the court's deliberations. As the major contributor, Germany's
backing is needed if the new bailout fund is to come into force.
The Karlsruhe-based court has been considering objections,
including one from 37,000 people, to the constitutional validity of
Europe's fiscal compact on budget discipline and the creation of the
ESM.
A decision by the eight judges to uphold the objections would be a
major blow to Europe's hopes for bringing the debt crisis to an end.
German legislator Peter Gauweiler applied for a delay so the court
could review the European Central Bank (ECB) programme for limitless
purchases of government bonds announced last week.
A court spokeswoman said the judges had not decided whether or not
Gauweiler's application was valid, but only confirmed the timetable.
"We can't release any other information because the judges are
continuing their consultations," she said.
Financial markets were steady as the verdict neared. The 30-share
DAX, the main Frankfurt index, was down 0.1 per cent at 7,206 at
midday.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was scheduled to meet later
Tuesday in Frankfurt with ECB chief Mario Draghi.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel came under fire from the main
opposition party.
Senior Social Democrat Thomas Oppermann called the ECB programme
"undemocratic" and said "the mutualization of debt is being approved
in secret." He accused Merkel of the "peak of hypocrisy."
