Greece's parliament has backed a
government package of economic reforms aimed at ending the country's
debt crisis and securing a new bailout.
After winning cross-party
support in a late-night vote, PM Alexis Tsipras said he had a "strong
mandate" to complete negotiations with Greece's creditors.
However, some of his own MPs withheld their support in protest at austerity measures contained in the new package.
The proposals are to be studied by eurozone finance ministers later.
EU
sources says Greece's creditors - the European Commission, the European
Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - believe the plan is
positive.
Eurozone officials are also expected to discuss Greek requests for some of the debt to be rescheduled.
Media captionSome elements of the proposals were actually rejected in the recent referendum
In
total, 251 MPs voted "Yes", 32 voted "No" with eight abstaining. Nine
deputies were absent including former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.
Among
the members of Mr Tsipras's own Syriza party who abstained were Speaker
Zoe Constantopoulou and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.
"The
priority now is to have a positive outcome to the negotiations," Mr
Tsipras said in a statement after the vote. "Everything else in its own
time."
Mr Tsipras is asking creditors for €53.5bn ($59.47bn) to
cover Greece's debts until 2018. It would be the debt-strapped country's
third bailout.
Greece in numbers
€320bn
Greece's debt mountain
€240bn
European bailout
177% country's debt-to-GDP ratio
25% fall in GDP since 2010
26% Greek unemployment rate
Reuters
In return, he has given in to demands for a pension overhaul, tax
rises and privatisations - measures rejected in a referendum last
Sunday.
Greek banks are days away from running out of money and unless a deal is struck the country faces a possible exit from the euro.
The
BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says the package is a major climbdown for
the prime minister, whose radical left-wing Syriza party was elected on a
strong anti-austerity platform.
Addressing MPs before the vote,
Mr Tsipras admitted that his government had made mistakes but he said
the new proposals offered the best possible deal for Greece.
12 July: Eurozone leaders meet (14:00 GMT) followed by summit of all 28 members of the European Union (16:00 GMT). Both Brussels
20 July: €3bn payment due from Greece to the European Central Bank
European Stability Mechanism explained Faraway Georgia feels the pinch Will EU leaders choose Grexit? Angela Merkel under pressure over Greek bailout deal Did Greeks fail to pay 89.5% of taxes? He described the lengthy negotiations with the creditors as "a battle".
"Now I have the feeling we've reached the demarcation line. From here on there is a minefield."
Mr
Tsipras said the bailout deal "entails many proposals that are far from
our pledges", but he added it was "marginally better" than the
proposals put forward last month by creditors.
He said there was a "national duty to keep our people alive and in the eurozone".
Greece's parliament debated the new measures into the early hours of Saturday
The Eurogroup - eurozone
finance ministers - is due to discuss the reforms at 13:00 GMT and a
meeting of eurozone heads of government is scheduled for Sunday.
That will be followed by a full EU summit later that day.
The measures submitted in the new Greek document include:
tax rise on shipping companies
unifying VAT rates at standard 23%, including restaurants and catering
phasing out solidarity grant for pensioners by 2019
€300m ($332m; £216m) defence spending cuts by 2016
privatisation of ports and sell-off of remaining shares in telecoms giant OTE
scrapping 30% tax break for wealthiest islands
If approved, the proposals must also be ratified by parliaments in several EU states.
Greece's eurozone partners seem divided over the Greek proposals so far.
French
President Francois Hollande described them as "serious and credible",
but Germany's finance ministry warned that there was "very little leeway
in terms of restructuring".
Greece's creditors have already
provided more than €200bn in two bailouts over the past five years. The
second expired on 30 June.
Greek banks are closed and a €60 (£43;
$66) daily limit on cash machine withdrawals, imposed on 28 June,
remains in force for Greek citizens. With a shortage of €20 notes, for
many the limit is in effect €50.
The language of debt
Haircut:
A reduction - or writedown - in the value of a troubled borrower's
debts. In 2011, Greece's private lenders received a massive 50% haircut
of what they were owed. At this stage the Greeks are being careful not
to ask for debt haircuts. Debt restructuring or rescheduling:
Altering the terms of a loan in order to extend the repayment period.
It may also mean dismissing part of the money owed. US Treasury
Secretary Jacob Lew has said Greece's creditors should restructure the
country's debt, but that such a move would not necessarily mean writing
off a part of what Greece owes them. The IMF's boss Christine Lagarde
has also said Greece needs debt restructuring. Debt relief:
The forgiveness of part or all of a debt (a "haircut"), or the
temporary suspension of repayments on the existing debt. The IMF Chief
Economist Olivier Blanchard has said any Greek deal should include debt
relief. All Greek to you? Debt jargon explained How easy is it to swap currencies? Full coverage of Greek debt crisis
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