Regling Says ESM Won’t Work Without German Backing, Spiegel Says

The European Stability Mechanism, the euro area’s permanent rescue fund, is unlikely to be successful if Germany’s highest court rules against it this month, ESM chief Klaus Regling told Der Spiegel.

“Without Germany, the ESM doesn’t make any sense,” the magazine quoted Regling as saying in an e-mailed preview of a story to be published tomorrow. If all euro-area states meet targets and improve their competitiveness, the debt crisis “can be overcome in one to two years,” Regling said, according to the magazine.

To contact the reporter on this story: Naomi Kresge in Berlin at nkresge@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net