Quadriga

Germany’s top court has cleared the way for the European Stability Mechanism to take up its work. But the judges also imposed conditions. Germany’s parliament will have to back any financial commitment over and above the 190 billion euros already approved.

The constitutional court ruling came as a relief to many EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The markets also rose upon the news. The European Stability Mechanism can now go into operation - with Germany as its biggest contributor. But the judges have also set clear limits.

Germany’s parliament will have to approve any move to increase Germany’s 190 billion euro share or to expand the rescue package as a whole. National and European politics are now more closely interlinked than ever.

Will this mean an end to the euro crisis? Or has the eurozone just gained time? Can Germany shoulder this financial burden? If the German Bundestag has the last word from now on, won’t this automatically put it on collision course with other member states?

Tell us what you think: Is the Euro Crisis over?

Send an e-mail to: Quadriga@dw.de

Our guests:

Theodore Kouvakas - studied art history in Florence and architecture in Venice, and trained to become a journalist. In the 1980s, he wrote for a range of media outlets. Kouvakas covered foreign policy and financial markets for Imerissia SA, a financial and business newspaper. Since 2010, he had served as Berlin correspondent for Real Media SA. Now he is the correspondent of the greek weekly newspaper “Paraskeri kai Dekatris” in Berlin. His areas of expertise include European financial markets and foreign policy. Kouvakas also has a strong interest in cultural topics.

Stefano Casertano - He is an academic and a journalist, living in Berlin. He teaches international politics at Potsdam University, and is a Senior Fellow at the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security. He is a columnist for the Italian business newspaper Linkiesta.it. In 2008 he completed his MBA at Columbia University, and later his Ph.D. Magna cum Laude at Potsdam University. He served as international affairs advisor for the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. He published four books about geopolitics, starting with a History of Cold War in 2009. In 2010, he has been nominated "Italian Young Leader" by the US-Italy council; and "Aspen Young Fellow" by the Aspen Institute.

Margaret Heckel - After studying economics in Heidelberg and the USA, Margaret Heckel completed her training at the "Georg von Holtzbrinck school of Journalism for modern business and finance journalism.” She then moved on to become the correspondent for Eastern Europe for the weekly publication "Wirtschaftswoche.” In 1999, she switched to the Financial "Times Germany," where she ran the economic policy desk and later was in charge of the political desk as well as managing the Berlin office. In 2006, she took over the political desk for “Die Welt,” “Die Welt am Sonntag” and the “Berliner Morgenpost.” Today she works as a freelance journalist and operates her own websites www.starkemeinungen.de and www.das-tut-man-nicht.de.