–Opposition Votes With Government Camp For Ireland Aid Package
BERLIN (MNI) – Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag,
on Thursday approved Germany’s participation in the joint EU, Eurozone
and IMF aid program for fiscally ailing Ireland.
Under the terms of the E85 billion aid package, Germany will
guarantee E6.25 billion of bonds issued by the European Financial
Stability Facility (EFSF).
Alongside the ruling center-right CDU/CSU-FDP coalition, the
opposition center-left SPD and ecologist Greens parliamentarians also
voted for the Ireland aid package. Only the neo-communist Left party was
against it.
Parliamentary approval of the aid for Ireland was not formally
required. Yet the government still wanted to have parliament vote on the
bill in order to enhance its chances of defeating a legal challenge to
the rescue measures in the country’s Constitutional Court. Several
citizens have filed a lawsuit against the EU rescue measures.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Monday he hoped
that the financial aid for Ireland would curtail the risk of contagion
to other Eurozone member states.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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