Germany says 'yes' – but the euro’s not safe yet

The decision of Germany's constitutional court means the European Central Bank can go ahead with its latest rescue plan. But the single currency is by no means safe yet, says Matthew Partridge.

Yesterday, the German constitutional court made its decision. And the eurozone breathed a sigh of relief.

The bottom line is that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM or the big bail-out fund, as we call it) does not go against Germany's 'basic law'. This means the ESM can finally go ahead. Any further increase in its value will have to be agreed by the German parliament, but this is as much a face-saving measure as anything else.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri