Constitutional concerns
October 28, 2011
The German Constitutional Court in the southern town of Karslruhe has thrown doubt on a parliamentary committee responsible for controlling Germany's contributions to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in special cases.
The special nine-member committee was formed to quickly deal with pressing questions concerning the EFSF - such as buying bonds, providing aid to banks or using the eurozone bailout fund.
The decision in Karlsruhe means the committee will be unable to make any decisions on the use of the EFSF until the matter is resolved. Any such decisions will revert to the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
It could also mean that a vote in the Bundestag on the further deployment of German loan guarantees as part of the euro bailout will be delayed.
Too much power?
The court was acting on a petition from two members of the opposition Social Democrats, who argued that the special committee should not have sole power to decide matters pertaining to the EU's bailout fund and Germany's fiscal governance.
Peter Danckert and Swen Schulz said the committee also violated their rights as parliamentarians.
The court said it felt the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel would not be impinged upon by the preliminary ruling because matters pertaining to the EFSF could be decided on in the Bundestag plenary at any time.
Author: Darren Mara (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Nicole Goebel