Dutch parliament approves European bailout fund

(AP) Dutch parliament has approved an expanded eurozone bailout fund by a wide margin.

The vote commits the Netherlands to contribute 5.7 percent, or €44 billion, to the €780 billion European Financial Stability Facility, intended to aid debt-laden governments in the eurozone, notably Greece.

While a majority of Dutch voters oppose any bailouts for foreign states, most politicians in this trade-dependent nation fear a cascade of negative fallout effects if the euro crisis continues to grow.

Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager repeated Thursday that he has not ruled out further contributions to the EFSF. He has also lobbied for a centralized treasury for eurozone nations and penalties for those that violate budget deficit rules.