Tripple posting in 1, maar de moeite waard om door te lezen.
German turmoil over EU bail-outs as top judge calls for referendumGermany's top judge has issued a blunt warning that no further fiscal powers may be surrendered to Europe without a new constitution and a popular referendum, vastly complicating plans to boost the EU's rescue machinery to 2 trillion (1.7 trillion).
German turmoil over EU bail-outs as top judge calls for referendum
The accusation that German leaders are conspiring with EU officials to emasculate the Bundestag is highly sensitive.
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Andreas Vosskuhle, head of the constitutional court, said politicians do not have the legal authority to sign away the birthright of the German people without their explicit consent.
"The sovereignty of the German state is inviolate and anchored in perpetuity by basic law. It may not be abandoned by the legislature (even with its powers to amend the constitution)," he said.
"There is little leeway left for giving up core powers to the EU. If one wants to go beyond this limit – which might be politically legitimate and desirable – then Germany must give itself a new constitution. A referendum would be necessary. This cannot be done without the people," he told newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.
The extraordinary interview comes just days before the Bundestag votes on a bill to revamp the EU's 440bn bail-out fund (EFSF), enabling it to purchase EMU bonds pre-emptively and recapitalise banks.
Tensions are running high after it emerged over the weekend that officials are working on plans sketched by the US Treasury and the European Commission to "leverage" the firepower of the EFSF to 2 trillion, in conjunction with lending from the European Central Bank.
Carsten Schneider, finance spokesman for the Social Democrats, demanded that Chancellor Angela Merkel and finance minister Wolfgang Schuble clarify their "true intentions " before the vote on Thursday.
"A new multi-trillion programme is being cooked up in Washington and Brussels, while the wool is being pulled over the eyes of Bundestag and German public. This is unacceptable," he said.
Prince Hermann Otto zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, the Bundestag's deputy president and finance chief for the Free Democrats (FDP) in the ruling coalition, expressed outrage over the secret plans.
"Unless the German finance minister can give an immediate assurance that there will be no leveraged formula, I will not vote for this law. We might as well dispense with months of negotiations if all this means is that the Bundestag will be circumvented and served cold left-overs," he said.
The accusation that German leaders are conspiring with EU officials to emasculate the Bundestag is highly sensitive, going to the core of the raging debate in recent months over EU encroachments on German democracy.
Dr Vosskuhle said that the improvisation of far-reaching policies had become "dangerous", and warned against schemes to circumvent the rule of law with backroom deals. "Germany has a great affinity for the rule of law. People expect the political class to obey the rules."
He reminded leaders that the court had set clear boundaries to EU bail-outs in a ruling earlier this month, although it gave the go-ahead for the package of measures agreed so far.
"Our judgment makes clear that the Bundestag cannot abdicate its fiscal responsibilities to other actors. And no permanent mechanism may be created that entails taking over the liabilities of other states," he said. When asked whether eurobonds are off limits, Dr Vosskuhle said any ruling by the judges would be "pretty clear".
Ewald Nowotny, Austria's central bank governor, said it would be a grave error for Europe to try to bounce Germany into decision of huge scope and significance without the assent of the people.
"It is quite dangerous when a feeling builds up in Germany that the country is being overrun, and specifically, that such an important country is being outvoted in the ECB," he told Der Standard.
There is little doubt that Chancellor Merkel can pass the EFSF bill with the help of the Social Democrats and Greens. It is less clear whether she can survive the vote without an absolute majority from her own coalition. Green leader Jurgen Trittin said her government would be "finished" if it has to rely on opposition votes.
Her task has become that much harder after Standard & Poor's hinted Germany itself might loose its AAA rating if the rescue machinery is greatly expanded."There is no cheap, risk-free leveraging option for the EFSF any more," said David Beers, S&P's head of sovereign ratings. "We're getting to a point where the guarantee approach .. is running out of road," he said, adding the various options under discussion could have "potential credit implications".
The Social Democrats are using their political leverage over the EFSF vote to push for greater "haircuts" for banks holding Greek debt. This creates a fresh set of dangers.
Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann implored politicians not to open "Pandora's Box", warning of a domino effect across Europe if the existing deal for writedowns of 21pc on Greek debt is breached. "If the financial sector is further weakened, the real economy will pay a high price," he said.
Pavan Wadhwa from JP Morgan said a bigger restructuring of Greek debt could backfire badly unless proper defences are in place. "If this occurs without a simultaneous and credible plan to recapitalise the banking sector, it could prompt a full-blown crisis," he said.The bank said the eurozone is "falling into recession" as austerity policies bite deeper. It expects the ECB to cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 1pc in early October.
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Germany's Top Judge Throws Major Monkey Wrench Into Leveraged EFSF Machinery, Demands New Constitution and Popular Referendum for Further PowersThe major story of the day is the leveraged EFSF is dead without a popular referendum and a new German constitution says Germany's top judge.
Please consider German turmoil over EU bail-outs as top judge calls for referendum
Germany's top judge has issued a blunt warning that no further fiscal powers may be surrendered to Europe without a new constitution and a popular referendum, vastly complicating plans to boost the EU's rescue machinery to 2 trillion (1.7 trillion).
Andreas Vosskuhle, head of the constitutional court, said politicians do not have the legal authority to sign away the birthright of the German people without their explicit consent.
"The sovereignty of the German state is inviolate and anchored in perpetuity by basic law. It may not be abandoned by the legislature (even with its powers to amend the constitution)," he said.
"There is little leeway left for giving up core powers to the EU. If one wants to go beyond this limit – which might be politically legitimate and desirable – then Germany must give itself a new constitution. A referendum would be necessary. This cannot be done without the people," he told newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.
The extraordinary interview comes just days before the Bundestag votes on a bill to revamp the EU's 440bn bail-out fund (EFSF), enabling it to purchase EMU bonds pre-emptively and recapitalise banks.Carsten Schneider, finance spokesman for the Social Democrats, demanded that Chancellor Angela Merkel and finance minister Wolfgang Schuble clarify their "true intentions " before the vote on Thursday.
"A new multi-trillion programme is being cooked up in Washington and Brussels, while the wool is being pulled over the eyes of Bundestag and German public. This is unacceptable," he said.
Prince Hermann Otto zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, the Bundestag's deputy president and finance chief for the Free Democrats (FDP) in the ruling coalition, expressed outrage over the secret plans.
"Unless the German finance minister can give an immediate assurance that there will be no leveraged formula, I will not vote for this law. We might as well dispense with months of negotiations if all this means is that the Bundestag will be circumvented and served cold left-overs," he said.
The accusation that German leaders are conspiring with EU officials to emasculate the Bundestag is highly sensitive, going to the core of the raging debate in recent months over EU encroachments on German democracy.
The German court has already killed eurobonds. Now, if the top judge's call stands, leveraged EFSF just bit the dust as well.
Clearly the German court has had enough of Chancellor Angela Merkel, her cronies, and all the politicians who want to rob German taxpayers for their own agenda.
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Premier Rutte: uitvoeren Grieks steunpakket heeft prioriteitDEN HAAG (Dow Jones)--Uitvoeren van het nieuwe reddingspakket voor Griekenland heeft prioriteit in de aanpak van de schuldencrisis in de eurozone, zeggen premier Mark Rutte en zijn Finse evenknie Jyrki Katainen maandag.
De premiers willen niets zeggen over mogelijke nieuwe maatregelen om de toenemende crisis te bezweren.
"We hebben dit pakket van 21 juli nodig en zijn zowel in Finland als in Nederland erg druk bezig om het uit te kunnen voeren. De rest is speculatie", zegt Rutte tijdens een persconferentie na de ontmoeting met Katainen.
Volgens Katainen geeft het geen pas te speculeren over alternatieve opties, nu het huidige pakket door sommige nationale parlementen nog moeten worden goedgekeurd.
In veel landen hebben de volksvertegenwoordigers de laatste stem over de steun, die onder meer een breder mandaat inhoudt voor het European Financial Stability Facility, het noodfonds voor eurozonelanden.
Volgens Katainen is de stemming in het parlement "een belangrijke kwestie in Finland". Rutte verwacht dat de Tweede Kamer begin oktober zal stemmen over de aanvullende Griekse steun.
Beide leiders verwerpen de suggestie dat het EFSF wordt uitgebreid. "Er zijn in Nederland, en voor zover ik weet ook in Finland, geen plannen om het bedrag voor het EFSF te verhogen", aldus Rutte. ============================================================
Ghe.... dat is al een behoorlijke doodsteek voor het 2T reddingsplan.
Maar wel ergens wel fair. Ben benieuwd hoe een dergelijke verhoging van dit fonds in andere landen besproken gaat worden. Heeft er alle schijn van dat Duitsland de toetssteen wordt.
Als dat plan van tafel gaat, dan is er geen simpel draaiboek om banken te redden als er grote lidstaten opvallen. Dan wordt het toch ieder voor zich en IMF voor ons allen.
[ Bericht 3% gewijzigd door Drugshond op 27-09-2011 06:39:15 ]