Greece crisis: Greek MPs in second austerity vote

Greece's parliament is holding a second vote on its austerity programme, which it needs to implement to secure the country further financial support.

The vote is about putting into practice the tax hikes, pay cuts, privatisations and public sector redundancies approved in principle on Wednesday.
The vote was a retreat from the "grave scenario of default", the EU said.
Public reaction has been very hostile, and the debate has been accompanied by strikes and violent protest.
After hours of discussing the measures, MPs started voting shortly after 1600 (1300 GMT); it is not clear how many votes will need to be held to push the bill through.
Clashes continued on Syntagma (Constitution) Square outside parliament overnight, as police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths.

Calm now appears to have returned and the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says the city's street-cleaning crews have come out in force removing debris from two days of battles in the square.

Police have restricted access to the city centre to prevent demonstrators from obstructing members of parliament heading to vote on the new law.

Some Athenians have accused the police of heavy-handed tactics, and newspapers have railed against what one called "an orgy of state terror", our correspondent says.
Some accused the police of over-using tear gas.
Scores of people were treated for injuries and severe breathing problems.
Government confident Government officials say they are confident that those who supported them in Wednesday's vote, when the package was approved in principle by 155 votes to 138, would also vote for implementation, known as enabling legislation.

Its measures include:

• The setting up of a privatisation agency
• Preparation for privatisation of state-owned real estate
• Tax increases
• Curbs on public sector recruitment
• Social security regulations

The opposition New Democracy party, which voted against the government on Wednesday, has said that it will support some elements of the bill involving privatisation and spending cuts.
"We will do what we can to support the government," said MP Nikos Dendias, a former justice minister, quoted by Reuters news agency. "We will vote for two chapters of the bill today."

Greek tragedy

Total Greek debt

Greece is about to get a second bail-out from the EU, aimed at helping pay its debts until 2014. It also has to agree more cuts as part of the deal.

The economy

The Greek economy is in dire straits. Retail sales have fallen 18% since 2008 and manufacturing output has dropped 30% in the same period.

Working population

Greeks retire on average at 61. Tax evasion is widespread. Until 2010, public sector workers received two months extra pay a year in bonuses.

EU demands

To meet EU demands, Greece must sell 50bn euros-worth of public assets by 2014, equal to 20% of GDP. Public sector pay is being cut 15%.

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Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has offered some concessions on tax, one of the most contentious parts of the package.

Some Socialist MPs have said they will vote against individual clauses such as an increase in heating oil levy and a rise in the minimum tax threshold.
The vote will enable Greece to receive the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan in time instead of defaulting.
But analysts say the real challenge will come after the loan is secured, and there is concern about whether the austerity measures can be effectively implemented in the face of so much public hostility.
Wednesday's vote prompted a furious response from protesters in Athens.
Sporadic violent clashes were continuing in the capital in the early hours of Thursday between masked protesters - armed with sticks and stones - and riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades.
Despite the unrest, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy welcomed the result as a "vote of national responsibility" paving the way for a second aid package.

The package of tax rises and budget cuts - worth about 28bn euros over five years - had been championed by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

Had it been rejected, Greece could have run out of money within weeks. The EU and the International Monetary Fund have demanded that the measures are implemented before they extend further loans to Greece.
Greek unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts that have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.
Once passed, European officials will start to finalise the details of a second bail-out, worth an estimated 120bn euros, designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014.
BBC