German parliament backs Greek rescue deal

The German parliament voted overwhelmingly on Monday to endorse a 130-billion-euro second rescue package for Greece to help avert bankruptcy. The vote before the Bundestag lower house was backed by 496 of the 591 deputies present, giving Chancellor Angela Merkel the green light to ratify the package at an EU summit in Brussels on March 1 and 2. Ninety lawmakers voted against, while five abstained.
It was not immediately clear whether Merkel had to rely on votes from opposition MPs to secure the majority as two of the three opposition parties had vowed to approve the motion. Merkel earlier urged lawmakers to endorse the lifeline for Greece, warning that the risks of failing to help avert bankruptcy were incalculable. "The risks of turning away from Greece now are incalculable," Merkel told the Bundestag special session on approving the package and Germany's contribution to it. "No-one can assess what consequences would arise for the German economy, on Italy, Spain, the eurozone as a whole and finally for the whole world" of a Greek bankruptcy, she added.