Debt crisis: German court clears way for pivotal decision on bazooka Stockmarkets were muted ahead of the ruling, which could de-rail plans to boost the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the "big bazooka" bail-out fund. Traders" jitters were compounded as the Greek finance ministry appeared to confirm reports that Athens was preparing a compensation claim against Germany for debts owed from the Second World War. The Greek government has dedicated four officials to raking over the archives from the period of German occupation, which lasted from 1941 to 1945, according to the newsgroup ekathimerini.com. "The matter remains pending," it quoted deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras as saying. Greece has never resigned its rights. Greece could receive a boost on Wednesday if the Dutch electorate choose to replace Mark Rutte's Liberal party with Diederik Samsom, his Labour party rival. Mr Samson has said he is willing to give Greece more time to meet the austerity terms of its bail-out, while Mr Rutte - one of Angela Merkel's staunchest allies - is against the plan. The rivals were neck and neck in the last polls. European stockmarkets rose marginally on the day. The euro climbed after Germany's Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe confirmed it had dismissed a German politician's claims that the decision on the ESM ratification should be delayed to assess the impact of the European Central Bank's bond buying plans. A petition signed by more than 37,000 Germans has challenged the legality of ratifying the new fund, which could lead to taxpayers taking on significant liabilities from indebted states, without a referendum. Although the German parliament has already approved of the proposal to give the ESM €500bn firepower, the court has the power to reject the decision as unconstitutional. Ms Merkel and other German politicians are confident of a positive ruling.