POTSDAM: Germany's finance minister stressed Thursday the euro would remain a "stable currency" as he expressed confidence the country's top court would not block key crisis fighting tools next week.
Presenting a prize to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Wolfgang Schaeuble declined to comment directly on measures taken by the ECB earlier Thursday, except to quip the independence of the bank was a "high good."
"The euro is and will remain a stable currency and will not break apart," Schaeuble said.
He said he was "more nervous" about a parliamentary election in the Netherlands on September 12 than the ruling by Germany's Constitutional Court due that day on legal challenges to the EU's new bailout fund, the ESM.
The minister said he was confident that deals struck at the European level were in conformity with Germany's constitution.
Schaeuble, a passionate pro-European, insisted that the "decision to set up economic and monetary union was the right one."
"Imagine if we didn't have an economic and monetary union. The situation would be much worse," he said.
Europe will only have a competitive economy if it commits to fiscal stability, the German minister said, acknowledging that many countries had made significant progress, citing Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
In his acceptance speech, Draghi concentrated more on the long-term solutions for Europe, referring to the masterplan he is drawing up with the presidents of the European Commission, European Council and Eurogroup of finance ministers.
"National states will have to pool more sovereignty in certain areas ... but sovereignty will be pooled only where it is essential," Draghi said.
He said the plan the four presidents are drafting would be "both realistic and attainable otherwise leaders will not buy them."
"We must find ways to guarantee that national decisions do not harm other members of the euro area," stressed Draghi.
Earlier Thursday, Draghi sent markets around the world soaring as he unveiled a wide-ranging plan to tackle the near three-year eurozone debt crisis.
Draghi said the ECB would buy the bonds of debt-wracked countries -- which has the effect of driving down their borrowing costs -- but only if nations first applied for a bailout and accepted tough conditions.
In Germany, traditionally wary of inflation, several policymakers have spoken out against the plan and the head of the German central bank or Bundesbank voted against the new scheme.
Jens Weidmann said it was equivalent to "monetary financing" where the central bank prints money to ease pressure on individual countries, which is against the ECB's strict mandate to control inflation.
Draghi was receiving the M100 media prize in the historic surroundings of the Sanssouci castle in Potsdam, near Berlin.
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