German Court Backs Euro Rescue Fund

Germany's high court has rejected calls to block the European Union's permanent rescue fund. The much-anticipated ruling, which boosted global markets, paves the way for the fund's ratification by Germany's president. Germany's ratification of the European Stability Mechanism, a bailout fund created to prevent the weakest euro economies from going bust, is key because the fund cannot work without the participation of Europe's biggest economy.

Opponents had challenged Germany's ratification of the $637 billion bailout fund, arguing that it violated the country's constitution. They had sought an injunction preventing the country's president from signing the legislation into law. The Federal Constitutional Court's chief justice said the case posed "special challenges"—not just because of the political significance of the ESM, but because the financial and political consequences of a possible delay were "almost impossible to estimate reliably." (More European Union stories.)