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German parliament to back aid extension for Greece

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

German lawmakers showed they would back the extension of Greece's contentious request for yet another bailout in a vote on Friday as the deal won majority support in Germany's governing bloc on Thursday.

In a test vote of 311 lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), only 22 opposed the extension, five abstained.

Lawmakers from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merkel's ruling coalition partner, voted unanimously in favor of extending aid for Greece until the end of June.

The Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament, was scheduled to ballot on the deal on Friday. As the coalition of CDU-CSU and SPD holds 80 percent of the 631 seats in the house, an approval is expected.

Doubts about Greek government's credibility, however, prevail in Germany, the paymaster for Greek bailout.

Volker Kauder, parliamentary group leader of CDU-CSU, said the reason underlying the conservative bloc's support was more to promote the "interests of Germany and Europe," rather than supporting Greece.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview on Wednesday that Greece has problems in repaying international debts.

According to local media reports, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble criticized Greek government of "straining the solidarity of Europe" when he met lawmakers on Thursday.

In an earlier interview on Wednesday, the hard-line German politician said the bailout extension gave Greece time instead of soft conditions. "No single euro will be paid" unless Greece fulfills its reform commitments to international creditors, he said. Endit