German parliament approves aid for Greece
Germany's parliament yesterday overwhelmingly approved billions of euros in international aid for Greece, handing a much-needed financial boost to Athens as it battles against bankruptcy.
Deputies voted by 473 to 100 to give the green light to the release of 43.7 billion euros ($56.9 billion) in aid to debt-wracked Greece agreed after torturous talks between eurozone finance ministers.
There were 11 abstentions.
The result of the vote was never in doubt after the two main opposition parties vowed to support Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling centre-right coalition, with less than a year until elections.
Ahead of the vote, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble pointed to the significant efforts made by the Greek government to implement reforms demanded in return for the aid and warned of the consequences of letting Athens fall.
"Without our support, it would not only be the future of Greece at stake, but also the future of the eurozone as a whole," Schaeuble said.
"The potential impact of a Greek default on other eurozone countries and the eurozone would be serious. The consequences are not foreseeable. We cannot start a process that could end in the break-up of the entire eurozone."
Although the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) voted largely in favour, political debate has raged over whether German taxpayers will eventually have to accept losses on Berlin's holdings of Greek debt.
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