Germany approves tranche but stresses it will continue to monitor Greece

Germany on Wednesday sent Greece a new message that it will continue to strictly monitor the country, as it attached a significant note to the German parliament's decision to lift its block on the last bailout tranche to Athens.

While German MPs voted for the disbursement of the 15 billion euros to Greece, they also voted for a proposal which requires that the Bundestag issue its consent each time the earnings of national central banks' earnings from Greek bond holdings are due to be forwarded to Athens in the coming years.

That is one of the debt relief measures that depend on the implementation of reforms by Greece that the Eurogroup has decided to apply. It was a given that the earnings of Germany's central bank to be returned to Greece would have to be reflected in the German state budget.

Yet obviously the German deputies wanted something more than that: A...