Advertisement

Bailout expansion clears final hurdle in Bundesrat

Author thumbnail
Bailout expansion clears final hurdle in Bundesrat
Photo: DPA

The EU's beefed-up eurozone bailout fund cleared its final hurdle in Germany Friday when the upper house of parliament backed the move to help debt-ridden countries.

Advertisement

In a move which was largely a formality, Bundesrat MPs who represent Germany's 16 states approved the bill with no formal ballot, a day after it overwhelmingly won the backing of parliament's lower house.

During Friday's debate in a Bundesrat extraordinary session, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble again stressed the urgent need to protect the eurozone.

"Our concern is that the situation on the financial markets which remains worrying could lead to a crisis in the financial and banking sector with a big danger of contagion," he said.

The vote before the Bundestag on expanding the €440 billion ($599 billion) bailout fund had also been seen as a crucial test of Chancellor Angela Merkel's authority amid fears of a major backbench rebellion.

However, she secured an overwhelming majority of her own deputies to back the move.

Austria became the 14th eurozone state Friday to approve the new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility.

AFP/mdm

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also