German Force-Fed Austerity to Hurt for Years: Sebastian Dullien

Only a few months ago, there was an intense debate and a lot of resistance in Germany to setting up the European Financial Stability Facility and European Stability Mechanism. Part of the resistance wasn’t about the billions of euros lent to weaker partners in the currency, but about whether the German parliament was giving away too much sovereignty.

Against this background, the fiscal compact the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for, and which now will be included in a new treaty, must have come as a surprise. After all, the new rules give away even more national sovereignty.