Germany Prepares for the Next Challenge in the Eurozone Crisis

The rise of nationalist parties such as the National Front in France and Jobbik in Hungary has been well publicized, but a more subtle challenge to European integration is emerging from constitutional courts and national parliaments. Reports that Berlin is investigating potential reforms to gain greater parliamentary control over the German constitutional court show that the main economic and political force in Europe can already foresee much larger institutional hurdles in its attempts to stabilize the eurozone.

With no end in sight for the eurozone crisis, Europe's perennial tension between integration and national sovereignty will only intensify. EU member states will eventually begin serious negotiations to reform the bloc's institutional framework. These negotiations will be contentious at the EU level, but for Germany they could also ignite serious debates and institutional challenges.