Germany: Greek economy was on the "right path" before Syriza, says Schaeuble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece's economy was growing in December last year, before Syriza came to power, in a speech at the Bundestag debate on a bailout deal for Athens in Berlin on Friday. The comments, in which he cited an International Monetary Fund report, were made ahead of a vote on whether Germany should start negotiations on a third rescue package for Greece. After the decision in Brussels to negotiate a new bailout for Greece, Germany's lower house of parliament will vote on a mandate for the German government to negotiate with Athens on a third bailout. The Greek parliament has already voted in favour of the bailout package which features a raft of austerity measures. The proposed bailout currently stands at €86 billion ($94 million), a large proportion of which is expected to be underwritten by Germany.