Greek Loan Heads for German Parliament

With Greece still twisting in the wind and waiting for international lenders, including the Eurozone, to approve a long-delayed $38.8 billion loan installment, the German Parliament will put it to a vote next week.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had been hoping that Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Nov. 20 would sign off on the loan that is the first tranche in a pending second bailout of $173 billion that had been on hold until the Parliament approved a $17.45 billion spending cut and tax hike plan that passed earlier this month, but only narrowly.
Germany’s Bundestag lower House of Parliament is likely to approve the installment as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are confident it will be approved, a senior conservative lawmaker said, according to Reuters news agency.
“We want to do this in next week’s sessions,” said Michael Grosse-Broemer, the conservative’s parliamentary floor leader. He told reporters he was optimistic that the conservatives and their Free Democrat (FDP) junior coalition partners would manage a majority, saving Merkel the humiliation of relying on the pro-bailout opposition Social Democrats (SDP) and Greens.
Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will report back to the parliamentary leaders of the main parties early on the Eurozone finance ministers meeting. The German government is required to get the approval of the Bundestag before it can formally approve a euro zone decision on unfreezing payments to Greece under its second international aid package.
Schaeuble has proposed bundling together the next Greek aid tranche due in December with the overdue payments to give Greece a total of 44 billion euros, ($56.38 billion) which would be paid on December 5. “Greece has made substantial efforts in the last 2-1/2 years and should take note of what Greek politicians, the country and the people have achieved in terms of budget consolidation and structural reforms,” said senior conservative MP Michael Meister.