In a recent interview, Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister, stated that Germany will not contribute any additional funds to the EU after the 211 billion euros which were approved by parliament.
He said: “The European Financial Stability Facility has a ceiling of 440 billion euros (or $590 billion), 211 billion of which is down to Germany. And that is it. Finished.” He went on to imply that the European Stability Mechanism, which will replace the EFSF by 2013, will be smaller. “Then it will be only a matter of 190 billion in total, for which we will be guarantors, including interest,” he said.
The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament in Germany, approved the Eurozone bailout fund on Thursday. The vote solidified Chancellor Angela Merkel’s authority, though more than 50% of Germans thought it a mistake to boost the EFSF.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle vouched for tighter surveillance of the indebted countries.
“A right to scrutiny and make recommendations isn’t enough. The states, which in the future will benefit from the solidarity of the rescue fund, should give the European authorities the right to intervene in their budgetary decisions,” he said.
