Germany gives green light to the aid plan for Greece – Echoes

After a debate of nearly three hours, 454 deputies out of the 585 deputies present voted in favor of the program of 86 billion euros. 113 voted against and 18 abstained, said the President of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert.

Within the CDU-CSU group of the Chancellor, 63 MEPs voted against the program and 3 abstained. In July, there were 60 to oppose the opening of negotiations with Athens. This is a setback for Angela Merkel who has not succeeded in limiting the sling in his party. Throughout the Bundestag, a particularly high number of elected officials (46) did not come to vote.

“The decision on a new aid package to the Greece is not just “, acknowledged Wolfgang Schäuble in his speech. “With the experience of recent years and in recent months, there is no guarantee that everything will work and there is doubt. But since the Greek Parliament has already adopted a large part of the measures, it would be irresponsible to pass up the chance of a new start in Greece “, said the Minister of Finance.

Read also & gt; At the heart of the Greek crisis, Merkel-Schäuble rivalry

During the negotiations with Athens, the -ci had distinguished by its rigidity, even to propose to Athens leaving the euro temporarily. Before Parliament, he recalled that “for the federal government, it is essential that the IMF remains” stakeholder in the program. The International Monetary Fund, however, conditions its future participation in relief of the Greek debt, which Wolfgang Schäuble again refused Wednesday.

For the German government, the solidarity demonstrated the Germany must be followed by a certain reciprocity in the case of migrants. Greece is an abstract subject for citizens but the issue of migrants is concrete, said Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of CDU-CSU. “The challenge now is to find a solution, not only in Germany but across Europe. And there I found that Europe needs to step energetic. “

The issue is sensitive in Germany. This afternoon, the Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière should formalize new annual forecasts of asylum claims, which could reach up to 750,000, according to “Handelsblatt”. So far the government was counting on 450,000 asylum applications in 2015, against 202,000 in 2014 and 127,000 in 2013. The previous record was set in 1992 with nearly 440,000 refugees from Germany, including the former Yugoslavia.

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It was the last obstacle to the final adoption of the third aid package to Greece concluded on 14 August between the Eurogroup and Athens. Not surprisingly, the German Parliament finally brought him his support after a massive vote in favor of Deputies. 454 for, 113 against and 18 abstentions

There While Chancellor Angela Merkel had dutifully made its lobby upstream from German parliamentarians last week, and the very intransigent German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, since the agreement in the Eurogroup of 14 August spectacularly converted to support for Greece: “It would be irresponsible to pass up the chance of a new start in Greece” , he said Wednesday at the podium before the Bundestag the vote of financial assistance plan in Athens.

Schäuble himself takes the defense of Greece at the podium

Presents the Bundestag, the Chancellor had also not been leading the defense of the plan, leaving Wolfgang Schäuble called elected officials to approve this program up to 86 billion euros over three years. The adoption of this plan was necessary so that Greece can pay back 3.4 billion euros Thursday the European Central Bank.

The “yes” of elected officials was clear, the “grand coalition” uniting the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Unions (CDU of Angela Merkel’s Bavarian ally and CSU) have 504 seats out of 631. On July 17, the 631 elected members of the Bundestag had approved the launch of negotiations on this third aid program. The “no” vote on Wednesday were even slightly fewer.

The Chancellor seems to have escaped a blow of his own. The division of the party vote should be announced early afternoon by the Bundestag.

The Hague facing a possible censure motion on the aid plan for Greece

The Dutch Government was preparing his side Wednesday in a heated debate in the lower house of Parliament, with a possible censure motion because its support for the third plan of aid to Greece, because of dissension within the Liberal Party of Prime Minister.
150 MPs were recalled for vacation a debate during which the Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is also president of the Eurogroup, must defend the new aid plan.
The Dutch government does not need parliamentary approval to accept the aid plan Greece at the European level but it is unthinkable that the Hague ignores the views of Parliament.
Mark Rutte’s party had repeated earlier it would not support the aid plan if the IMF are not participating, and we had a meeting behind closed doors for several hours Tuesday to Prime Minister finally succeed in convincing his party otherwise.