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Leading G-20 Members Support Greek Aid Package

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Leading members of the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations have expressed support for a proposed $146 billion aid package for Greece.

The finance ministers of Britain, Canada, France, South Korea and the United States issued a statement Monday saying the package "merits the support of the international community."

Also on Monday, the cabinet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel approved legislation that would contribute $29.6 billion in German funding to the aid package.

The draft legislation now must clear both houses of the German parliament, and is on a fast track to do so by Friday.

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund announced the $146 billion aid package for Greece on Sunday.

That loan package requires the Athens government to enact wide-ranging austerity measures, including spending cuts and tax increases.  The bailout is expected to be endorsed by European leaders at a summit later this month.  

Politicians and investors are worried that economic problems could spread throughout the EU if Greece fails to make a scheduled debt repayment later this month.  Those concerns grew in the past week when a key credit rating agency, Standard and Poor's, downgraded its credit ratings for Greece, Portugal and Spain.

Some information for this report was provided by DPA and Reuters.

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