EFSF Bundestag package may take weeks to fund

The Irish Times, always a good source for news from within the Euro Group of countries has the following points on the package just passed in the German Lower Parliament:

EURO ZONE governments have warned it could take weeks to finalise the means to give their debt-crisis rescue fund the firepower it needs to protect countries such as Italy and Spain from speculative attacks.

The draft of the terms for the “optimisation” of the European financial stability facility (EFSF) submitted to the German parliament states that the fund would choose between two tools on a case-by-case basis.

To multiply the impact of remaining resources – €250 billion out of the original €440 billion, following bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal – the EFSF could insure portions of new sovereign bond issues. It could also tap a special fund fed by global private and public investors.

But the governments warn that winning investors for the latter special purpose investment vehicle, or SPIV, could “require a period of some weeks”, should EU leaders give the proposal the green light at their summit today.

Italy still seems to be confused over the nature of the package they will present to their EU fellow-members later today, while reports now abound that the Netherlands will be unlikely to get its parliament to approve whatever package eventually emerges.

EFSF leverage robs Merkel of her own support.

A test vote ahead of the upcoming decision on the upgraded EFSF deal for the second Greek bailout turned sour for the German Chancellor this evening, read here.

In Greece the vote on the extended property tax was more favourable for trhe Germans, when the Greek Parliament demonstrated its main concern continued to be their own salaries in slavishly following all the EU demands at the expense of the futures and well-being of their citizens.

Leveraging the EFSF could imperil France's Triple A rating!

There has been much speculation today that the next step in the disaster that is the euro crisis will be a route described as leveraging the EFSF, effectively letting rip the money printing presses within the European Central Bank.

S & P last evening New York time, however, have already gone on record as stating this could endanger the triple A credit rating for some countries backing the EFSF, read here.

For more detail on these machinations, please read the linked article from the posting immediately beneath this post.