Germany expects Greek austerity package

BERLIN — Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Sunday that Greece will not receive its next tranche of international aid unless its parliament passes a fresh austerity package next week.

At the same time, Schaeuble said he was “confident” that a majority of Greek lawmakers would pass the next raft of spending cuts and tax hikes and called on the opposition to support the government in Athens.

“It would be nice to see the opposition in Greece support the government, as we saw in Portugal and Ireland,” Schaeuble said in comments to the Bild am Sonntag weekly.

Greek lawmakers are to vote next week on a (euro) 28 billion ($39.8 billion) midterm austerity plan and an implementation law.

“If the package is rejected, which nobody expects, it would be a reason for the IMF, the eurozone countries and the European Union not to release the next tranche of aid,” Schaeuble said. If the package fails to pass, “the stability of the entire eurozone would be in danger,” he added.

“We are doing everything to prevent an escalation of the crisis for Europe, but must at the same time be prepared for everything,” he said.