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German president signs 750 billion eurozone aid bill into law

Other News Materials 22 May 2010 20:26 (UTC +04:00)

German President Horst Koehler on Saturday signed into law a bill committing Germany to its share of a 750-billion-euro (930-billion-dollar) eurozone rescue system aimed at bailing out stricken euro member states, DPA reported.

The bill was narrowly approved in parliament the previous day, where it was carried by Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition majority, with 319 votes in favour, 73 against and 195 abstentions.

As the largest eurozone economy, Germany would contribute up to 148 billion euros in credit guarantees, if the full rescue package is ever implemented in any of the 16 countries that have adopted the EU's single currency.

On top of individual countries' pledges, the rest of the aid is made up of 250 billion euros from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 60 billion euros from the European Union's budget.

The law was passed just two weeks after Germany approved its 22.4-billion-euro share of a huge eurozone/IMF Greek aid package.


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