Germany parliament approves Brussels bailout plans

Hours after putting together a bailout scheme at the EU summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was back in Germany for a vote on it in the Bundestag.

Eurozone leaders agreed bailout funds will be given more flexibility to stabilise bond markets and to directly recapitalise banks.

The two proposals made it through Germany’s lower house of parliament, with opposition parties supporting Merkel in return for growth and job creation measures. Deals had to be done to ensure the two thirds majority needed for the bills to be successfully passed.

In another vote later on Friday, the measures were also given the green light by parliament’s upper house – the Bundesrat.

“Today Germany, with the approval of the fiscal pact and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) by all parties in both houses of parliament, will send an important signal, a signal of unity and of determination, a signal that we are overcoming the European debt crisis in a sustainable way,” Merkel said as she addressed the Bundestag.

Before it can come into force, the ESM will still have to be approved by Germany’s Constitutional Court.

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