国际英语新闻：German lower house approves second rescue package

BERLIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Germany's lower house of the parliament Friday approved the second economic stimulus package of 50 billion euros (about 66.8 billion U.S. dollars) to boost German economy.

    The new package was first settled on Jan. 12 by Social Democrats (SPD), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the three coalition parties of German government, and then it was approved by the German government on Jan. 27.

    The package was approved in the lower house because Merkel's coalition government enjoys a comfortable majority, while it could face objections in the upper house next week as the government does not hold a majority and opposition lawmakers have threatened to block the bill.

    The package was disappointing and ineffective, and it will dragd own the nation with huge debt, said Guido Westerwelle, the leader of one opposition party, Free Democrat Party (FDP) according to the report of German News Agency DPA.

    Besides, Free Democrat Party may also introduce its own stimulus measure on Feb. 16, calling for expanded tax cuts and other changes, according to the report of Bloomberg.

    "The economic package is to against the global financial crisis. We will make sure the measures are implemented as soon as possible," Merkel said when the German government approved it.

    The German government has to borrow more money to pay for the measures, which increase infrastructure investment and lower taxes. In order to win support for the new measures, Merkel's government has promised to cut net borrowing by 2020.

    The new package was said to be used as a voting measure before the general election scheduled at the end of September, according to the report of DPA.

    German lawmakers approved a 32-billion-euro rescue package in November 2008. If the second rescue package was approved in the end, the German stimulus package will reach 82 billion euros over the next two years, or about 1.6 percent of its gross domestic product, the biggest economic injection in Europe. (1 U.S. dollar =0.7485 euros)