Germany says it still sees no need at present to increase the euro zone's planned permanent rescue fund after the currency bloc agreed on a new bailout for Greece. The country has faced widespread calls to agree to strengthen the $662 billion European Stability Mechanism, which is to take over this year from the short-term fund used to bail out Ireland and Portugal, the Associated Press reported. But Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Wednesday the government still sees "no necessity" to do so and noted that eurozone countries already agreed to review the question in March. He added that "the situation on the bond markets has significantly improved" lately for Spain and Italy and said that Germany's priority is to decide soon how and in what tranches capital is paid into the ESM.
