Germany’s Constitutional Court began the hearing on the crucial question: Did the German government act lawfully by committing billions of euros to the bailout of Greece? The answer of the Federal Constitutional Court will probably be ‘Yes, but’, writes German weekly DER SPIEGEL on its online edition. Is the future of the bailouts within the euro zone in the hands of German judges? Most probably “Yes”. Der Spiegel stresses that the judges will perhaps set an upper ceiling on any future rescue packages and are likley to grant the parliament great power in decision-making concerning the German financial contribution to bailout packages.
Germany’s highest court, based in the southwestern city of Karlruhe, began its deliberations on Tuesday with a public hearing on the legality of Germany’s contribution to the bailout. A prominent Bavarian conservative politician, Peter Gauweiler, and a group of professors have mounted a legal challenge against Berlin’s actions last year to help save the single currency.
They accuse the German government of breaching both the constitution and European law. They believe the aid paid for Greece and the contribution to the European Union’s euro rescue fund was in breach of EU law, which stipulates that member states must not assume each other’s debts.
“We appeal to the high court to put a stop to the actions of the European politicians in order to prevent us from falling into the abyss of a disintegrating economic and monetary union,” declared one of the plaintiffs, Wilhelm Nölling, an economist and former president of the regional central bank for the city-state of Hamburg.
Countering the challenge, Franz Mayer, a professor of state law who is representing the German federal parliament, the Bundestag, said the court “has a responsibility for the future of the monetary union.” The judges, he argued, “must leave room for future developments.”
Read the whole Article in English LEgal Challenge on Greece Aid: rman Court likely to rule “Yes, But” on Euro Bailout
