German President signs euro bailout fund

German President Joachim Gauck's office says he has signed into law the eurozone's permanent $645.5 billion rescue fund and Europe's budget-discipline pact.

Gauck signed the legislation Thursday - a day after Germany's Federal Constitutional Court rejected calls for an injunction blocking the measures.

However, the court did insist that Germany fulfill some conditions - notably, legally guaranteeing that Parliament must vote on any further increases in Germany's contributions to the fund, the European Stability Mechanism.

Gauck's office says that once the government has fulfilled those conditions, the ESM still requires a further formal step of ratification by the president to take effect.