German parliament debate on Greece deal could unsettle markets, Schaeuble says
Asking the German lower house to debate the eurozone's decision to give Greece a new credit lifeline could lead to market uncertainty, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday.
He was responding to a call by a senior lawmaker from Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) for a full parliamentary debate on the eurozone's latest financing deal for Greece. The Bundestag's budget committee will on Wednesday debate the new deal and decide whether a full debate is needed.
"I assume that such a decision by the budget committee would lead to new agitation and new uncertainty on the markets," Schaeuble said in Luxembourg.
A vote in the Bundestag on an 8.5 billion euro disbursement of aid for Greece could embarrass conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel as some of her lawmakers oppose aid to Greece.
Schaeuble said there were discrepancies between Germany, EU institutions and the International Monetary Fund on whether Greece's debt was sustainable. [Reuters]
