No full German parliament approval needed for Greek aid, says Merkel ally

Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament will not need to hold a full debate on paying out the next tranche of aid to Greece, the leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative group in parliament said on Tuesday.

Three months before an election, some lawmakers from the Social Democrats (SPD), the junior partner in Merkel's coalition, had wanted a full parliamentary debate on the 8.5 billion euro loan to Greece. Internal opposition could make a debate embarrassing for Merkel.

However, approval from the whole assembly is not needed, said Michael Grosse-Broemer, head of the conservatives in parliament, adding that the parliamentary budget committee could deal with it.

That committee meets on Wednesday and is widely expected to sign off on the loans agreed by eurozone governments last week without referring it to a full session of the Bundestag.

Some of...