Germany's top court to announce euro rulings on September 12

Germany's Constitutional Court will keep Europe waiting until September 12 for its verdict on whether the new tools for fighting the euro zone debt crisis comply with German law or violate parliament's right to decide on national budget issues.

Resisting pressure from politicians and markets for a swift approval of the permanent bailout scheme (European Stability Mechanism) and the fiscal pact for budget discipline, the court said on Monday it would announce its verdict in nearly two months' time.

There was no immediate reaction from the German government, but Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said after last week's public hearing that he hoped for a ruling before the autumn.

Constitutional Court president Andreas Vosskuhle said during last week's public hearing into complaints that the euro crisis tools are unconstitutional that the court might opt for a "very thorough summary review", which could take up to three months.

"The constitutional court seems to be one of the few European institutions that takes some time in the euro crisis," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski. "I believe September is still fast enough to keep markets from falling into turmoil."

Constitutional experts say they expect the court based in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe to permit ratification of the ESM and fiscal pact, but possibly signal that Germany cannot cede any more sovereignty to Brussels without constitutional changes probably requiring a referendum.

The ESM, which would boost the firewall against debt crisis contagion to 700 billion euros, had been due to come into effect on July 1.

It needs ratification by countries representing 90 percent of its capital to be implemented - meaning it cannot be launched without Germany, whose parliament has already approved both pieces of euro crisis legislation by a large majority.

The court last week heard complaints from groups including euroskeptic academics, concerned citizens and some lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's own coalition that the ESM and fiscal pact violate German law by taking away responsibility for the budget from parliament.

EIB head: euro zone crisis will not end within two years

The head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Sunday he did not expect the euro zone to emerge from its debt crisis within the next two years.

"The pressure on member states and on the European Union itself to get their house in order will continue for a long time," Werner Hoyer told Germany's weekly Focus magazine.

"This is not simply going to last one or two years," he was quoted as saying.

Hoyer, who took the EIB's helm at the start of the year, said he did, however, believe that the political framework for dealing with the crisis could improve within the next two to three years.

He also reiterated his view that politicians should not consider the EIB, the European Union's long-term lending arm, as a panacea for the euro zone crisis.

A European summit at the end of June agreed to increase the EIB's capital by 10 billion euros by the end of the year, boosting its lending capacity by 60 billion euros to help stimulate the European economy.

Obama says he won't apologize for Bain attacks

President Barack Obama will not apologize to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for raising questions about his tenure and the timing of his departure from private equity firm Bain Capital, the Democrat said in an interview published on Sunday.
Romney demanded an apology last week after Obama's campaign suggested he may have broken the law by misrepresenting his position at private-equity firm Bain Capital, part of an assault on the former executive's business career and personal wealth that may be hurting him in the polls.
"No, we won't be apologizing," Obama said in an interview with a Virginia television station WAVY.
"Mr. Romney claims that he's Mr. Fix-it for the economy because of his business experience. And so I think voters entirely legitimately want to know, well what exactly was that business experience?" Obama said.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, was more succinct.
"Stop whining," Emmanuel said on ABC's "This Week" program. "If you want to claim Bain Capital as your calling card to the White House, then defend what happened at Bain Capital."
Romney has argued that the economic expertise he developed as an investor, manager and consultant make him a better choice than Obama to kick-start an economy that has been slow to recover from the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
But Romney's record at Bain is also shaping up to be something of a liability. Democrats have highlighted companies that went bankrupt or shipped jobs overseas under Bain's ownership to argue that Romney is only concerned with helping his fellow millionaires, not working people.
Romney's campaign has said he should not be held responsible for many of those decisions because they occurred after he took a leave of absence from Bain in February 1999 to oversee the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
But Romney continued to claim in regulatory filings that he was still in charge of Bain through 2002, according to documents that have surfaced over the past week. Bain and Romney officials say it took several years to sort out the terms of his departure but that he was not involved with the company's day-to-day operations during that time.
"He actually retired retroactively at that point. He ended up not going back to the firm after his time in Salt Lake City," Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
DISTRACTION?
Obama's campaign has accused Romney of being responsible for the firing of workers and bankruptcies at Bain-owned companies during those years.
"So, you know, as president of the United States, one of the things I've learned ... was anything that happens on my watch is my responsibility. That's what people expect. Harry Truman said 'the buck stops with me' and I think, understandably, people are going to be interested in are you (Romney) in fact responsible for this company that you say is one of your primary calling cards for your wanting to be president," Obama sad in the interview.
An Obama spokeswoman suggested last week that Romney could have committed a felony if he signed forms saying he was in charge of Bain when he was not -- which prompted the apology demand from Romney.
Democrats have also criticized Romney for setting up bank accounts in offshore tax havens and refusing to release more information about a personal fortune that is worth as much as $250 million.
The attacks may be resonating with voters at a time when Romney is still largely undefined in the eyes of the public. Several polls released in June found that Romney's negative ratings have risen in states where Obama and Democratic groups have attacked the former Massachusetts governor.
Romney allies said the attacks were an attempt to distract voters' attention from the fact that Obama has failed to counter high unemployment and sluggish economic growth during his three and a half years in the White House.
"The president can talk all he want about this, but it's the economy and jobs that are going to address this election," Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, seen as a possible vice presidential running mate for Romney, said on ABC's "This Week" program.
The Romney campaign released a new television ad relying on footage of journalists talking about how Obama's negative tactics this year contrasted sharply with the message of hope and change he campaigned on four years ago.
"This is not the candidate of hope and change, this is a candidate who is hoping to change the subject," Republican Representative Paul Ryan, another possible vice presidential candidate, said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

German court must decide on rescue fund by Sept: Juncker

Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker does not expect Germany's top court to block the new version of the euro zone's ESM bailout fund and believes judges are aware of the need for a verdict before a new round of crisis meetings in September.

The Constitutional Court agreed on Tuesday to examine complaints lodged against the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and financial markets have been unsettled by the prospect of it taking up to three months before it comes to a decision.

"I think (the judges) know the maximum timeframe in which we have to operate," Juncker told German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. The magazine said he was referring to decisions to be taken in September on Greece's 130 billion euro bailout.

Juncker said last week that Greece would get enough funds to meet its financing requirements over the summer before ministers meet in September to discuss Athens' request for more time to get its public finances in order under the terms of the bailout.

Financial markets had hoped the court decision - which blocks the implementation of the latest round of measures taken by the euro zone to deal with the debt crisis - would be a question of at most weeks.

"The constitutional question has also come up in other euro zone countries. In Estonia the bailout fund was examined by the top court and was confirmed. I therefore do not expect the judges in Karlsruhe to block it," Schaueble added, saying that the delay in the decision was "not helpful".

Juncker rejected the idea of splitting the presidency of the Eurogroup between France and Germany and said he wanted German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to succeed him as Eurogroup president.

"In my opinion Schaeuble meets all of the criteria to become Eurogroup president," he was quoted as saying.

A long-running battle over a series of senior European posts ended in June with the reappointment of Juncker, but he has indicated he would not want to serve the full 2-1/2 year term, meaning the issue is likely to come up again.

Asked if it would be better if Greece left the single currency bloc, Juncker, who is also Luxembourg's prime minister, said: "The fact is that the Greek government has not implemented the program as agreed. It's clear it will cost more money if we give Greece more time to fulfill the agreed targets."

"That raises two questions. Firstly are Europeans prepared to put up extra resources? And secondly will the International Monetary Fund on board? I can't answer this question until that has been clarified," he was quoted as saying.

Juncker said he was in favor of introducing a European president who would be directly elected by EU citizens and suggested merging the roles of EU council president and EU commission president.

"The Lisbon Treaty does not prevent that - it would be the prelude to a European President," he was quoted as saying.

He said it would be "sensible" to introduce a European finance minister and added that the roles of EU currency commissioner and Eurogroup head could be merged.

EIB head: euro zone crisis will not end within two years

The head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Sunday he did not expect the euro zone to emerge from its debt crisis within the next two years.

"The pressure on member states and on the European Union itself to get their house in order will continue for a long time," Werner Hoyer told Germany's weekly Focus magazine.

"This is not simply going to last one or two years," he was quoted as saying.

Hoyer, who took the EIB's helm at the start of the year, said he did, however, believe that the political framework for dealing with the crisis could improve within the next two to three years.

He also reiterated his view that politicians should not consider the EIB, the European Union's long-term lending arm, as a panacea for the euro zone crisis.

A European summit at the end of June agreed to increase the EIB's capital by 10 billion euros by the end of the year, boosting its lending capacity by 60 billion euros to help stimulate the European economy.