Germany's top court throws out anti-euro bailout lawsuit

Germany's constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that the country's contributions to a European Union bailout fund for Greece were constitutional. A group of professors, along with a Christian Social Union parliamentarian, Peter Gauweiler, had brought the case to the constitutional court. In May 2010, parliament approved Germany's contribution to an emergency aid fund for Greece as part of a eurozone bailout package. In total, Germany backed 170 billion euros ($240 billion) in loan guarantees for Greece. Wednesday's decision found that this did not violate parliament's right to control spending of taxpayer money. The court also found no proof that the amount of the guarantees went too far in exceeding the limit of the budget capacity. The constitutional court effectively rejected claims that Germany's participation in bailout packages would leave a large hole in the budget. Place for parliament However, the judges did say parliament's budget committee must have a bigger say in any future bailouts. "The government is obliged to get the approval of the parliamentary budgetary committee in cases of large expenditures," said Presiding Judge Andreas Vosskuhle. This will likely make it more difficult for Germany, and therefore Europe, to move quickly on future eurozone bailouts.