German parliament agrees bailout deal

German lawmakers approved the latest bailout for Greece today by a majority believing a Greek bankruptcy could lead to the break-up of the euro zone.

473 of the 584 deputies in the parliamentary chamber voted for the bailout, which aims to cut Greece’s debt load to 124 per cent of national output by 2020.

Michael Grosse-Broemer, a CDU politician, said he was happy with the outcome of the vote but added “Greece must now continue its efforts to reduce its debts and carry out structural reforms.”

Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the country’s competitiveness was finally improving as a result of the austerity program but added Germany will be strictly monitoring Greece’s reforms to ensure that the country meets its fiscal targets.

Schaeuble warned against speculation that governments will eventually be forced to write off part of the Greek debt commenting “such false speculation does not solve the problem”.