Eurozone finance ministers kept up intense pressure on Greece yesterday, saying it had to approve tougher austerity measures before a final decision is made on a further 12 billion euros (US$17.07 billion) in loans.
Meeting into the early hours yesterday, ministers indicated that the next tranche of EU-IMF aid would be paid by the middle of next month, allowing Athens to avoid default, but said it was up to Greece to show concrete progress on plans to cut spending, raise taxes and generate other revenue streams first.
“We are waiting for a decision from the Greek parliament. We are calling for not just the government, but the Greek opposition to support the plan,” Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said ahead of a second day of meetings in Luxembourg.
“We are increasing the pressure because there are precedents,” Reynders said, referring to Greece’s not meeting commitments in the past and falsifying statistics.
“We have to be sure that everyone is going to support the plan,” Reynders said.
In Athens, anti-austerity demonstrators gathered in the central square outside parliament, but there were no new clashes with security forces.
Power workers began a strike and blackouts were expected in some parts of the country later in the day.
In parliament, legislators are debating the highly unpopular plans to cut spending, further increase taxes and privatize state assets, measures already agreed with the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank to bring finances back into line.
On Sunday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked Greeks to support the austerity steps and avoid a “catastrophic” default, appealing for the nation to accept deeply unpopular tax hikes, spending cuts and privatization plans.
“The consequences of a violent bankruptcy or exit from the euro would be immediately catastrophic for households, the banks and the country’s credibility,” Papandreou said at the start of a confidence debate on his new crisis Cabinet.
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