GERMANY-EU-ESM-FINANCE-PUBLIC-DEBT-COURT

Andreas Vosskuhle (L), chairman of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), issues the court's ruling on the legality of the eurozone's bailout fund and fiscal pact for greater budgetary discipline on September 12, 2012 in Karlsruhe, southern Germany. The eurozone cleared a key hurdle towards resolving its debt crisis as Germany's top court approved a new European firewall for ratification, with some minor conditions. In a landmark ruling watched around the world, the Constitutional Court overturned a raft of legal challenges aimed at preventing German President Joachim Gauck from signing two crucial crisis-fighting tools into law. Delivering a momentous decision with far-reaching implications for the euro's future, the eight scarlet-robed judges of the Bundesverfassungsgericht said Gauck could finally sign the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and fiscal pact. AFP PHOTO / POOL / ULI DECK (Photo credit should read ULI DECK/AFP/GettyImages)