Germany's government approved Wednesday a supplement to the treaty setting up the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a key step in shoring up the eurozone against its three-year-old debt crisis.
The rider, described as an "interpretative declaration," meets
demands from Germany's Constitutional Court for an explicit ceiling
on German liability and guarantees that the parliament in Berlin will
be kept briefed.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was to meet the head of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, after the cabinet meeting. No
press conference was planned, but the meeting centres on the eurozone
crisis.
The ESM, which was originally meant to go into operation in July,
has been on hold because of the German court case. Judges two weeks
ago cleared the ESM, provided the rider was attached. Once Germany
has ratified the treaty, it will take effect, likely next month.
The declaration says, "No provision of the treaty may be
interpreted as leading to payment obligations higher than the portion
of the authorized capital stock corresponding to each ESM member."
It also states that other parts of the treaty "do not prevent
providing comprehensive information to the national parliaments."
The text issued in Berlin as a parliamentary document said the
rider was to be jointly adopted by all the ESM nations in Brussels.
