Germany to double first euro fund contribution

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is currently planning to transfer Berlin’s €4.3-billion tranche for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) due in 2013 a year earlier.

EU leaders are currently hammering out the details to launch the ESM by next summer in an attempt to stem Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Germany is to provide €21.5 billion of the fund’s total capital of €80 billion. This will give it a lending capability of around €500 billion.

“It’s clear that the faster the ESM receives capital, the more trust there will be on the financial markets,” Schäuble told the regional daily Rheinische Post.

DPA/The Local/mry