- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
The Bundestag lower house voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to grant Cyprus a 10 billion euro bailout, in order to avert bankruptcy for the tiny Mediterranean island nation and keep it in the Eurozone. 487 lawmakers out of 602 backed the rescue, under which Cyprus has agreed to impose major losses on depositors as well as raise the corporate tax rate. At the same time, the parliament backed seven-year loan extensions for bailout victims such as Portugal and Ireland. Actions and policy conducted by Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats Party has helped to lift voter support to the highest since she took office in 2005.
"We must avoid turning the problems in Cyprus into new problems for other euro countries," Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers in a speech before the vote. "Cyprus is in a dramatic situation. If we don't help Cyprus, then Cyprus inevitably faces sovereign default."
"Step by step we are winning back confidence. If you look at the markets, there is still nervousness and uncertainty. But it is considerably less than three years, two years or one year ago," Schaeuble said in a speech.
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