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German parliament approves expanded EU bailout fund

A large majority in the German parliament has approved expanded powers for the

EU's main bailout fund.

Chancellor Angela Merkel received stronger than expected support in the

Bundestag despite some in her coalition vowing to oppose the bill.

Many Germans are against committing more money to prop up struggling eurozone

members such as Greece.

There are protests in Athens where international inspectors are due for talks

on further bailout funds.

The measure is expected to pass in Germany's upper house of parliament, where

it will be put to a vote on Friday.

Five-hundred and twenty-three deputies in the Bundestag approved the bill, 85

voted against and three abstained in the 620-seat chamber. Nine members were

not present.

Dissidents

The outcome of the vote was not in question, as the main opposition parties,

the SPD and the Greens, indicated they would support the expansion of the fund.

But the 315 coalition deputies also voted in favour, meaning that Mrs Merkel

did not have to rely on opposition support to get the measure passed.

Before the vote, there was intense lobbying by Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats

(CDU) and their coalition allies to pressure the handful of dissidents to get

in line.

Analysis

image of Stephen Evans Stephen Evans BBC News, Berlin

Chancellor Merkel got her majority more easily than she might have expected.

Fifteen members from parties in her coalition government voted against her, not

enough to make her have to rely on the opposition.

The main opposition party, the Social Democrats, supported the government.

As one of its MPs put it in the debate: "We will vote with you because Europe

needs this vote. Don't rely on us next time."

In the end, 523 MPs voted with the government and 85 against, including the

left group.

Chancellor Merkel emerges not quite unscathed but not as a dramatically

weakened leader either.

Gavin Hewitt's blog: Merkel's authority survives

A reliance on this support would have cast into doubt her ability to get

forthcoming votes on a further bailout for Greece and a permanent successor to

the main EU bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF),

through the Bundestag.

"The broad majority in parliament clearly shows Germany is committed to the

euro and to protecting our currency," said Hermann Groehe, the number two in Ms

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) party.

But Frank Schaeffler of the Free Democrats party - a junior coalition member -

argued that bailout measures have made Greece's economic situation deteriorate.

"Despite all arguments, the first bailout did not make the situation for Greece

better, but worse," Mr Schaeffler said, according to the AP news agency.

"Expanding the fund will make the situation even worse."

Athens blockade

All 17 countries that use the euro must ratify the commitment to expand the

powers of the EFSF and boost its bailout guarantees to 440bn euros ( 383bn).

So far, 10 have approved the measure.

As Europe's largest economy, Germany's commitment to the fund would rise from

123bn euros to 211bn.

That bigger fund is already being dismissed as inadequate in the light of the

worsening Greek crisis and the threat of it spreading to other economies.

The former President of European Commission Romano Prodi said the German public

will come round to supporting the deal

Inspectors from the "troika" of international creditors supporting Greece - the

European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) - were due back in Athens to decide if the government has

done enough to warrant another 8bn euros ( 6.9bn) of loans.

Public workers blocked entrances to a number of ministries in Athens,

protesting against the deep austerity measures the government has imposed as a

condition of the bailout.

"Take your bailout and leave," shouted protesters outside the finance ministry,

Reuters news agency reported. They said they wanted to prevent Finance Minister

Evangelos Venizelos from meeting the troika officials.

Taxi drivers, hospital workers and other public sector staff were also due to

strike on Thursday, angered by the announcement of new austerity measures

including pension cuts and a new property tax.

Without the new loans - laid out under the terms of a bailout agreed last year

- Greece will soon run out of money.

New taxes have been approved and deeper spending cuts have been promised, but

some decisions have been delayed and privatisation is running behind schedule

says the BBC's Chris Morris in Athens.

Many people believe that austerity measures are pushing Greece's crippled

economy deeper into recession and strangling any chance of growth.