German citizens demand referendum on ESM and fiscal treaty
On Friday 29 June 2012, the German citizens’ alliance “Europa braucht mehr Demokratie” (Europe needs more democracy) and more than 12,000 citizens have lodged a complaint with Germany’s top Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe to hold a referendum on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the fiscal compact, which were ratified by both houses of the German Parliament on the same day. The German constitutional complaint (Verfassungsbeschwerde) is a remedy found in Germany’s basic law (Grundgesetz) giving citizens the means to allege that their constitutional rights have been violated.