Twin threats to eurozone stability recede Two looming threats to the eurozone's recent stability appear to be receding amid growing confidence that a German court may approve the bloc's new rescue fund and fresh signs that pro-EU parties in the Netherlands have surged ahead in national elections. The German constitutional court ruling and the Dutch elections, both due on Wednesday, have for weeks loomed like twin icebergs with the potential to sink Brussels" efforts to contain the crisis. Instead, it appeared that both were heading towards benign outcomes and might even add to the momentum supplied by the European Central Bank when it last week announced a new programme to buy unlimited amounts of eurozone government bonds - provided that nations sign up to tough reforms. In a video interview with the Financial Times, Olli Rehn, Brussels" economics commissioner, clarified the "strict and effective" conditions that governments would have to accept to benefit from the programme. These would be much the same as the annual Brussels-led recommendations for national governments" fiscal targets and economic reforms, Mr Rehn said, but with greater detail and timetables for implementation. The ECB decision has sparked outrage across Germany, where foes argue that it amounts to a "monetisation" of government debt that could unleash a burst of inflation. Peter Gauweiler, a conservative parliamentarian, latched on to the ECB decision over the weekend as he filed a last-minute legal challenge to the eurozone's permanent bailout fund, the €500bn European Stability Mechanism. Mr Gauweiler said the country's powerful constitutional court in Karlsruhe should not approve the fund until the ECB reversed its decision. Any interruption to the ESM could prove disastrous, since the current €440bn rescue fund is running low on cash and set to expire in less than a year. Yet several leading politicians predicted that the court would on Wednesday strike down that and a series of other challenges to the ESM. Thomas Oppermann, chief whip of the opposition Social Democrats, said he had "a good feeling" about the pending decision. "I think the court will stick with continuity, and expect the rescue fund to be declared constitutionally acceptable," he told the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel. The sanguine mood in Germany dovetailed with growing optimism in the Netherlands that the pro-EU centre appeared poised to snatch a surprise election victory after a stunning comeback by the once-moribund Labour party. Polls showed Labour now trailing the governing Liberals by one percentage point after a number of dynamic debate performances by the party's leader, Diederik Samsom, and a barrage of US-style campaign ads. The elections had been expected to deliver a more eurosceptic government in one of the eurozone's key creditor countries, limiting the entire bloc's flexibility to address the crisis. Yet Mr Samsom's comeback will most probably produce a centrist coalition including both Labour and the Liberals that would be more pro-European than the current conservative government. It appeared to signal a possible shift in the Dutch mood towards the eurozone crisis, with the public broadly welcoming the ECB's decision even as their German counterparts panned it. This week: Madrid this week to unveil review of Spain's troubled banks Tuesday: Greek premier Antonis Samaras meets ECB chief Mario Draghi in pursuit of bailout extension Wednesday: Strength of anti-EU feeling gauged in Dutch general election Wednesday: Formal announcement of European Commission's plans for banking union Wednesday: Germany's highest court may place new conditions on Berlin's support for eurozone financial rescues Friday: Eurozone finance ministers to discuss more help for Spain and Greece