Put to a vote
October 26, 2011
Ahead of the crucial EU summit in Brussels German Chancellor Angela Merkel put the additional German financial commitments to the EU bailout fund to a vote in the Bundestag on Wednesday, winning a broad approval of 503-89.
But the chancellor was the only eurozone leader who was obliged to seek parliamentary approval.
This unique requirement was decided in a landmark ruling from Germany's Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe last month. Concerned that the opinions of German delegates were falling by the wayside, it decided parliament must have a greater say in future EU bailout packages. The judges ruled that Germany's elected representatives must retain control over the fundamental budgetary decisions.
A parliamentary budget committee was chosen to manage this difficult task on a day-to-day basis. But in light of the new risks which could face Germany as the main guarantor of the European rescue package, the opposition in Berlin have demanded that all the details are made public as soon as possible.
Out in the open
According to Merkel, the main public role of the Bundestag was to debate how Brussels will handle the proposed miraculous boost to the rescue fund without the German taxpayer having to contribute to more than the 211 million euros already approved in parliament. This public debate was spearheaded by the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens.
Not long ago the government insisted on its intention that the budgetary committee should handle the thorny issue internally, but then the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Free Democrats (FDP) relented.
"The government doesn't want to appear as if guarantees were already being manipulated and boosted to astronomical proportions in secret, in some tiny backroom of the Reichstag," suggested the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Blank check?
Indeed skepticism in Germany is likely to increase if it appears there is a lack of transparency as one rescue package follows another within a year and half, with no end in sight.
With her agreement for an open debate and a vote in parliament, Merkel opened the door for the opposition SPD and the Greens to continue loudly criticizing the government, yet also made it easier for them to agree to the expansion of the EFSF "out of responsibility to Europe."
Even renewed success at home in the Bundestag does not give Merkel a free hand during negotiations in Brussels. She must adapt her position to what has been decided in parliament.
Unauthorized overruns to Germany's contribution to the rescue package could be a problem, and anything decided in Brussels on Wednesday must still be put to parliament in two weeks' time.
Author: Bernd Grässler / ccp
Editor: Martin Kuebler