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Germany ratified Thursday the treaty to
establish the eurozone's new high-firepower bailout fund, the
European Stability Mechanism, after a three-month legal wrangle.
President Joachim Gauck signed the ratification in Berlin, his
aides said. Germany, the biggest net contributor, had been the last
of the 17 eurozone states to ratify.
A vote by eurozone finance ministers on October 8 will now open
the 500-billion-euro (650-billion-dollar) ESM for business.
Spain, which needs to recapitalize its banks, is expected to be
its first client.
EU diplomats said the 17 eurozone ambassadors to Brussels had
agreed Wednesday to a pledge that no member state could be forced
into "payment obligations higher than (their) portion of the
authorized capital stock" in the ESM, thereby satisfying a key German
qualification.
Germany had originally passed legislation to adopt the ESM at the
end of June, but it was challenged by anti-bailout groups.
The country's constitutional court ruled on September 12, clearing
the treaty but demanding qualifications that Germany's liability be
capped and its parliament be given access to potentially confidential
ESM information.
Those riders were adopted Wednesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel's
cabinet and swiftly approved in Brussels.
Opponents then mounted a vain last-minute appeal. Supporters of
Peter Gauweiler, a maverick conservative federal legislator,
complained to the court that the qualification did not meet court
requirements to modify the ESM treaty.
But judges quickly ruled that it was "not evident" to them that
the rider was in conflict with the court's September 12 verdict.
The court had ruled that Germany could not be held liable, without
parliamentary approval, for more than the 190 billion euros (245
billion dollars) already pledged.
The technical, but friction-free, modification to satisfy the
court demands had been expected, following an announcement by
Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone
finance minsters, at an informal meeting in Nicosia two weeks ago.
