World

Schaeuble rejects calls to boost euro zone firewall

Published Updated

In an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper on Friday, Schaeuble said he was opposed to any increases in the euro zone bailout schemes, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) or the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

"What speaks against this discussion (to boost the volume) is the that we shouldn't be chasing after the latest fad every week," Schaeuble said, according to an advance released by the daily.

He added the regular demands for more and more funding for the firewalls was only fueling uncertainty. Schaeuble said the current levels are sufficient.

"Everything at the moment suggests that the rescue measures are sufficient," he said. Schaeuble said only about 43.7 billions of the 440 billion-euro EFSF has so far been tapped and thus there was still considerable scope available.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative allies have already warned against committing additional German funds to euro zone bailout schemes.

Copyright Reuters, 2012