The German Parliament needs to be involved at an earlier stage of European Union negotiations, the German Constitutional Court ruled June 19, meaning the German Parliament will be more involved in treaty negotiations than any other national parliament. The ruling gives Germany a greater say in EU decisions and makes it harder for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to make tough concessions to Europe.

Even before the ruling, Mrs. Merkel’s situation was difficult. EU nations would criticize every deal she offered as being too stingy. Then her M.P.s would criticize them for being overly generous. So far, she’s just about managed to persuade both parties to accept the deals.

Now her life will get much harder. When negotiating treaties, the German Constitution requires “the government to inform lawmakers comprehensively and at the earliest possible time,” said the court. “The information must enable parliament to early and effectively influence the government’s decision-making.”

Rather than being forced to accept a fait accompli, parliament will be able to restrict what concessions the chancellor can offer right from the start. Persuading Germany to accept euro bonds, for example, just got a whole lot harder.

Under the German Constitution, parliament must participate in all matters relating to EU integration. The government argued that recent bailout negotiations are not covered by this provision, as the new bailout funds aren’t EU institutions. The court disagreed, saying “EU matters do include such treaties if they add to, or are particularly close to, the law of the EU.”

The ruling is similar to a 2009 decision where the court said that parliament must approve all German military deployments, even if they are under the aegis of the EU. The ruling effectively gave parliament veto power over the EU’s military deployments. “Through this ‘trick’ of the German Constitutional Court, Germany must give the ‘go’ on any deployment of any EU battle group,” wrote Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser at the time.

This new ruling may have a similar effect, giving the German Parliament an effective veto over EU integration. The desires of Germany will certainly be given much greater consideration in future negotiations. All other national parliaments of EU states will only be able to accept or reject the final deal—often under heavy pressure. Only the German Parliament will be involved in the writing of new treaties right from the start.

The Constitutional Court already has a veto over EU integration. On June 21, the court asked the German president to delay signing the latest EU treaties—the new bailout fund and the fiscal pact—into law, saying the government pushed the legislation through parliament too quickly. The treaties haven’t yet been approved, but Chancellor Merkel wanted them signed into law by July 1.

This is just the latest Constitutional Court intervention in EU integration. When has the court of any other nation interfered with European integration?

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned in 2010: “Judicially, Germany is the only nation boasting a high court, the German Constitutional Court, whose power exceeds that of the European Court of Justice! The powers of the latter trump all judicial powers of the individual high courts of the other EU member nations” (emphasis his).

The June 21 ruling is just more proof of this. And the most powerful court in Europe has also made Germany’s parliament the most powerful parliament in Europe, at least when it comes to treaty negotiation. Could it get any more obvious who is controlling the EU?

The ruling shores up German control over EU integration. Progress can only be made on German terms. The golden rule—he who has the gold rules—already gave Germany most of the power in these negotiations. The court ruling makes this clearer and sends a message to the eurozone: Unless Germany gets the concessions it wants, there will be no bailout. It’s not just a case of convincing the German chancellor, but the German Constitutional Court and parliament as well.

Faced with massive unemployment and social unrest, the eurozone will have no choice but to accept Germany’s terms.