PARIS, May 4 -- The National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France has adopted the aid plan to Greece, which provided a loan of 16.8 billion euros over three years, of which 3.9 billion for the year 2010.
The financial amending bill, presented by the French Budget Minister Francois Baroin, was adopted by show of hands, after long debates among French deputies. The Senate is expected to vote as early as Thursday for final adoption.
In her speech opening the debate, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde urged parliament members to support this bill presented April 21 in the Council of Ministers.
"Our support in Greece is a moral imperative, an imperative of solidarity, and also an economic imperative because support Greece today is to stabilize the euro and strengthen Eurozone, and these requirements, of course, transcend the traditional left-right divide, " said Lagarde.
She said it would be "extremely vigilant" vis-a-vis the implementation of austerity measures which should be taken by the Greek Government in accordance with the agreement reached with the European Union and the IMF.
This bill has been passed unanimously last Wednesday in Finance Committee of the French National Assembly.
Its adoption at the National Assembly and the Senate is expected, given the near unanimity in Parliament, excepted some members who have taken different positions.
The Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), President Nicolas Sarkozy's party has displayed its firm support.
The Socialist Party, the main opposition party, has already demonstrated its solidarity with Greece, where the new socialist government is facing a serious financial crisis.
"It is very important that we affirm our support to Greece", said Francois Hollande, former first secretary of the Socialist Party.
On May 2, the 16 member countries of the Eurozone has decided to activate the mechanism for assistance to Greece, which provides an unprecedented 110 billion euros, including 80 billions provided by Eurozone countries and the rest by International Monetary Fund (IMF).
France is ready for 20.7 percent of total aid announced by Eurozone countries, according to its share of the European Central Bank (ECB).
According to forecasts from the French government, the first loan to Greece would raise the French public deficit to 152 billion euros in late 2010. But according to Lagarde, the government deficit in France will not however be affected by the loan to Greece.
A Greece suffered a financial crisis since last October when the new Socialist government has raised the forecast deficit of the country for 2009. The Hellenic Republic is facing a huge debt of more than 300 billions euros. |
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