(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s top court allowed the country to proceed with the ratification of the European Union’s 800 billion-euro ($960 billion) pandemic recovery fund, brushing off a bid to block the key economic program while a suit against the program is pending.
The plaintiffs in the case didn’t show that it’s highly likely the litigation will in the end lead to a ruling against the plan so ratification can’t be put on hold while the case is pending, the Federal Constitutional Court said in a statement on Wednesday.
The decision is part of litigation filed at the end of March on behalf of political group Buendnis Buergerwille, which said the EU shouldn’t be allowed to issue debt to finance its recovery program.
The massive stimulus plan marks the crux of the region’s economic response to the pandemic-induced crisis, consisting of grants and loans that will be primarily given to the worst-hit EU nations. Delaying or derailing the package could have put the bloc at risk of falling even further behind other advanced economies, after a botched vaccine roll out has already pushed out its recovery prospects.