German cabinet approves eurozone firewall

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet on Wednesday agreed a draft law approving the eurozone's firewall to tackle the debt crisis, which is due to come into force in July. The fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), is officially capped at 500 billion euros ($650 billion), but there is considerable international pressure to raise this amount - which Germany opposes.
Eurozone leaders have pledged to decide before the end of the month whether to increase the funds available. The permanent ESM was set up to replace the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) which expires at the end of 2013.