Mr Waigel's ineptness began with his insistence on the strictest application of the Maastricht treaty's budget criteria for joining the euro despite the treaty's flexible wording.

ECONOMIST: The Bundesbank bites back

Now, three civil liberty groups, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Privacy International, have sent another letter to the Council of Europe outlining their "continuing concerns" over the wording of the treaty and saying that their fears have not been laid to rest.

BBC: Treaty 'could stifle online privacy'