Greek lawmakers have adopted a bill calling for stricter austerity measures despite continued protest rallies against government’s policies.
A majority of deputies voted on Sunday in favor of the legislation for fresh international loans.
The legislation was required by the country’s troika of international lenders — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
It had been agreed earlier this month with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, after more than six months of tough negotiations.
The bill will unlock for Greece over 11.7 billion dollars. However, the country’s main opposition, Syriza party, slammed it.
Also on Sunday, over 12,000 protesters held a demonstration outside the parliament against austerity measures imposed by the Greek government.
Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras, who described the bill as “a crime committed against the people and our country,” blamed Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras for being “the main administrator of the death contract against Greek society.”
“You are passing a sweeping 600-pages multi-bill with which you are signing away the banking system and you are abolishing labor rights and the public insurance system,” Tsipras said.
Greek officials were willing to have the bill ratified before meetings with EU finance ministers in Athens on Tuesday to officially conclude the agreement for the new tranche of the international loans by the second half of April.
Greece has been at the epicenter of debt crisis in the eurozone and has so far experienced seven years of recession.
Since 2010, the national health, education and local government budgets have been cut down by some 40 percent and so have wages and pensions.
MSM/MAM/AS
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