Germany's top court to probe Greece aid
(BERLIN) - Germany's highest court Thursday said it would examine from July 5 a complaint against the government's decision to participate in an international rescue package for Greece.
Greece received a 110-billion-euro ($160 billion) international bailout last year but with state debts having ballooned to some 350 billion euros and a deeper-than-expected recession lessening the impact of sharp spending cuts, a second bailout is now considered unavoidable.
The Constitutional Court has been asked to rule on a number of suits brought by both pressure groups and individuals against Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision in May 2010 to contribute guaranteed loans of 22.4 billion euros for aid to Greece.
A number of plaintiffs have argued that the rescue package infringes the law as no provision was made for such aid under the European Union treaties.
They have also argued that they might suffer personally because the move could cause inflation in the eurozone, including Germany.
The court said in a statement it would hear oral arguments next month into the first of what it called a "raft" of suits filed.