BERLIN, Feb 20: The German parliament on Friday approved the biggest stimulus package in the country’s post-war history, aimed at lifting Europe’s biggest economy out of its worst post-war recession. The measures cleared their final hurdle after the Bundesrat upper house representing Germany’s 16 states gave the green light.

Merkel’s uneasy “grand coalition” cobbled together the 50-billion-euro ($63 billion) package last month after its first 31-billion-euro effort last year drew criticism at home and abroad for being too small.

The new measures also include 100 billion euros in loan guarantees but that amount will reportedly fall short based on preliminary requests alone, business daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday citing sources at the economy ministry.

“If we approved all the applications that have been submitted unofficially, the 100 billion euros would be insufficient,” a source told the newspaper.

The raft of measures is Germany’s largest stimulus plan since World War II.

It includes a huge increase in infrastructure spending as well as sweeping cuts in tax and social security contributions. Official data released this month showed that the German economy contracted by 2.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2008. —AFP