The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that one member of a civil partnership should be able to adopt the partner's stepchild or adopted child. Until now, they could only adopt a partner's biological child.

Germany has allowed same-sex couples to register civil partnerships that legally fall short of formal marriage since 2001. Unlike many other European countries, including Spain, the Netherlands and, most recently, France and Britain, it hasn't moved toward allowing full gay marriage.

The court ruled on a challenge to the existing rules from a woman who was denied permission to adopt a Bulgarian girl whom her partner had adopted. It ordered the government to draw up new legislation by June 2014.

It said the German constitutional provision that "marriage and the family shall enjoy the special protection of the state," cannot be used to justify ruling out same-sex partners adopting the other partner's adopted child.

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In the run-up to another European Union summit, Merkel is facing mounting pressure to soften Germany's fierce resistance to jointly issued eurobonds or other forms of debt pooling.

Though eurobonds could reduce borrowing costs for eurozone strugglers, like Spain and Italy, they could increase them for Germany and some others. Berlin worries about being liable for other countries' debts without being able to ensure that they push through economic reforms.

Top European officials have drawn up a plan ahead of the summit, which starts Thursday, that proposes a "medium term" move towards eurobonds, as well as the creation of a banking union with a single authority. They also called for the 17 euro countries to surrender more control over their national budgets, in an apparent nod to German concerns.

Speaking to Germany's Parliament, Merkel made clear that wasn't enough. She argued that the plan called for pooling debt first "and only second — and then very imprecisely — are more control and enforceable obligations named."

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The effort to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya topped the agenda at a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from NATO's 28 member countries. Three weeks of airstrikes haven't routed Gadhafi's forces, causing tensions in the alliance.

Although the alliance agrees that Gadhafi must be ousted, it has been at odds on how to proceed.

One proposal from Italy -- Libya's former colonial ruler -- calls for the western powers to provide defensive weapons to rebels. France has said NATO isn't doing enough, and was pushing other countries at the meeting to work "on more robust, more efficient, more rapid actions," according to French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero in Paris.

The rebels, meantime, have been urging the U.S. military to reassert a stronger role in the NATO-led air campaign. The Obama administration, however, has been insisting the U.S. will stick to its plan to remain in a supporting role, and the Pentagon noted that Americans have flown 35 percent of all air missions over the last 10 days.

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Germany also said it would ask for detailed information about the case.

Both governments had to bail out banks that lost hundreds of millions of dollars on investments marketed by Goldman, according to the fraud suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in Britain's case Royal Bank of Scotland through its acquisition of parts of ABN Amro.

The SEC said the Royal Bank of Scotland paid Goldman $841 million to unwind ABN Amro transactions. Royal Bank of Scotland is now 84 percent owned by British taxpayers after being partly nationalized by the government.

Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, an early victim of the credit crunch, lost nearly all its $150 million investment, the SEC said.

Brown on Sunday called for a full inquiry by Britain's Financial Services Authority in conjunction with the SEC. Britain would join Germany, where government officials said they would seek information about the bank's activities.

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