Trichet urges earlier votes
EUROPEAN Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, has called on the Eurozone’s paymaster economies to ratify changes to the region’s bailout fund immediately, amid fears that Slovakia could wait until December to do so.
In Slovakia on Sunday the head of a junior party in the ruling coalition said the Slovak parliament would not vote on expanding the powers of the regional bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), before December at the earliest.
While a Slovak delay may not be fatal for the EFSF in itself, it points to potential political problems with passing the measure throughout the Eurozone’s nation states.
Tomorrow morning, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court will deliver its ruling — awaited for over a year — on suits claiming Berlin is breaking German law and European treaties by contributing to multi-billion euro bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Legal experts think the court is highly unlikely to block the contributions altogether. But it is expected to give the German parliament a bigger say in approving them; yet another potential headache for German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left).