Euro Bailout Fund: Euro-Zone States Move to Assuage German Court

[sysop]

The final hurdle may now have been cleared for the implementation of the European Stability Mechanism, the permanent euro bailout fund. Euro-zone member states appear to have reached an agreement on a legally binding statement that addresses the conditions stipulated by Germany's highest court before the ESM Treaty can be ratified.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...857027,00.html

[Nixtou]

My elderly mother receives a pension from Germany. Recently, it was decided by the German government that German pensioners residing abroad would be required to pay income tax, not only on the pensions they receive from Germany, but also the pensions they receive from the country they reside in, which in my mother's case is Canada. What is very unfair about all of this is that she already pays income tax to the Canadian government for both of these pensions. So, in essence she is being taxed twice for both of these incomes. We were advised that there was an agreement made between the two countries that allows this to go on, but that Germany only just attained the funds and manpower to be able to institute the law that has been around since 2003 and are doing this to these pensioners retroactively. I'd really like have the German Prime Minister explain to me how this is fair. Especially when there are certain people who "hide" their money in offshore accounts and pay no taxes. Give me a break!

[taleoftwotreaties]

Originally Posted by sysop

The final hurdle may now have been cleared for the implementation of the European Stability Mechanism, the permanent euro bailout fund. Euro-zone member states appear to have reached an agreement on a legally binding statement that addresses the conditions stipulated by Germany's highest court before the ESM Treaty can be ratified.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...857027,00.html

Thanks for publishing the wording of the agreement. It has been carefully crafted as one would expect, and makes no explicit mention of national parliaments.

The ESM has another legal hurdle, this one in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. That is because the Irish Supreme Court has formally asked the Luxembourg Court a series of three questions including whether the ESM is compatible with the EU treaties. The full Court reference document is on the Supreme Court website.

The provisional hearing date in the ECJ is just over one month from now, on October 23.