Source: The Associated Press

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her country will provide 22.4 billion euros (US$29.6 billion) to help bailout Greece over a three-year period, part of a wider plan aimed at keeping Greece afloat and protecting their shared euro currency.

Speaking to reporters in the German capital, Merkel said Monday the money would do more than just assist Greece.

She said it will help the “stabilization of the euro as a whole and, therefore, help the people of Germany.”

The remark was a nod to the popular discontent in Europe’s biggest economy about having to pay so much to help a fellow European Union country that many Germans feel has been fast and loose with its finances for years.