Luxembourg ratifies EU rescue fund

Luxembourg’s parliament ratified the European Stability Mechanism on Tuesday, the EU rescue fund set up to help ailing eurozone countries deal with the ongoing debt crisis.

Lawmakers passed three laws in order to obtain full ratification of the fund including a direct capitalisation of two billion euros ($2.5 billion) from the tiny eurozone nation.

Designed as a successor to the European Union’s current bailout fund, the EFSF, the ESM is meant to go into operation on July 1 and will then be the currency bloc’s primary crisis management instrument.