GERMANY - A new panel of lawmakers set up by the German parliament to reach quick decisions on the release of rescue funds from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) may be in breach of the German constitution, a study by the parliament's research unit has shown. The panel is intended to ensure that parliament has a say in the release of funds from the EFSF, following a Constitutional Court ruling last month which said the parliament must be involved in measures to bail out other euro-zone member states. The nine-member body, to be selected from the parliament's budget committee, is to approve bailout decisions with the necessary speed and confidentiality to avoid fanning financial market turmoil. New Challenge Could Be Launched at Highest Court - But the study, undertaken by legal experts and commissioned by a member of parliament from the opposition center-left Social Democrats, Swen Schulz, has cast doubt on whether the panel will preserve an adequate degree of parliamentary sovereignty on budget decisions amounting to billions of euros. "Delegating this authority to a special body shifts responsibility onto a small number of people and obstructs the involvement of all members of parliament in the parliamentary process," the study says. Schulz is now considering taking the matter to the Constitutional Court, which is Germany's highest judicial authority. "A nine-member panel can't replace the Bundestag in such an important question," he says. Last month, the court rejected lawsuits filed by eurosceptics aimed at blocking the participation of Europe's biggest economy in bailout packages for Greece and other euro-zone countries. But it said the government must seek the approval of parliament's budget committee before granting aid.
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Monday, October 17, 2011
New Challenge Could Be Launched at Highest Court
GERMANY - A new panel of lawmakers set up by the German parliament to reach quick decisions on the release of rescue funds from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) may be in breach of the German constitution, a study by the parliament's research unit has shown. The panel is intended to ensure that parliament has a say in the release of funds from the EFSF, following a Constitutional Court ruling last month which said the parliament must be involved in measures to bail out other euro-zone member states. The nine-member body, to be selected from the parliament's budget committee, is to approve bailout decisions with the necessary speed and confidentiality to avoid fanning financial market turmoil. New Challenge Could Be Launched at Highest Court - But the study, undertaken by legal experts and commissioned by a member of parliament from the opposition center-left Social Democrats, Swen Schulz, has cast doubt on whether the panel will preserve an adequate degree of parliamentary sovereignty on budget decisions amounting to billions of euros. "Delegating this authority to a special body shifts responsibility onto a small number of people and obstructs the involvement of all members of parliament in the parliamentary process," the study says. Schulz is now considering taking the matter to the Constitutional Court, which is Germany's highest judicial authority. "A nine-member panel can't replace the Bundestag in such an important question," he says. Last month, the court rejected lawsuits filed by eurosceptics aimed at blocking the participation of Europe's biggest economy in bailout packages for Greece and other euro-zone countries. But it said the government must seek the approval of parliament's budget committee before granting aid.
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Previous Blog home Eurozone debt crisis: Germany dampens hopes of early solutionWolfgang Schäuble's warning that the upcoming EU summit will not deliver a definitive solution has disappointed the City, where the Occupy London protests continue
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German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble says that anyone dreaming that next week's EU summit will solve the crisis will be disappointed. Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA
3.01pm: George Osborne has responded to Wolfgang Schäuble's gloomy prediction that EU leaders won't make much progress when they gather this weekend.
The UK chancellor, who is due to meet with Schäuble - and Australian deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swann - said it was important to keep pushing for a solution. With the British economy flat-lining, he admitted, Europe's woes need to be tacked.
Here's Osborne's statement:
The countdown to Cannes (G20 leaders' summit) continues. The biggest boost to growth
across the world - and for Britain - would be a resolution to the crisis in the eurozone. Maintaining the momentum towards that will be the focus of my discussion with my international counterparts today.
2.44pm: Good afternoon, and welcome to our continued coverage of the European debt crisis.
As my colleague Alex Hawkes reported this morning, the financial markets had rallied at the start of trading, before slipping back after Germany's Wolfgang Schäuble warned that the summit of EU leaders taking place this weekend will not deliver "a definitive solution".
I'm here until the end of trading in Wall Street - so do get in touch in the comments below. Alex's morning/lunchtime blog is now closed.
Here's a round-up of key events so far today:
• German officials have poured cold water on suggestions that the eurozone crisis will be resolved within the next week, despite demands for decisive action.
• The Occupy London protests have carried on into a third day, and the first day many of those who work in the City will have brushed shoulders with them.
• There have been further protests in Greece ahead of the planned 48-hour strike on Wednesday and Thursday.
• The major City news is a piece of dealmaking – a bid for ISS by G4S.
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