Can Greece thwart a complete meltdown?
The government's austerity measures sparked violent protests -- and still aren't enough to guarantee an EU bailout
Topics: GlobalPost, Greece, News
A riot police officer throws a stone at demonstrators during violent protests in Athens' Syntagma (Constitution) square February 12, 2012 (Credit: Reuters/Yiorgos Karahalis)BERLIN, Germany — Amid growing unrest, Greece’s government has finally approved tough austerity measures, yet it is far from certain if the deal will be enough to avert disaster.
As lawmakers in Athens debated a bill Sunday that would impose yet-more severe austerity on the country, outside the parliament building tens of thousands of people gathered to voice their opposition to the deal. Violence flared, as buildings were set on fire, and the police engaged in running battles with rioters.
Around 150 shops were looted and over 40 buildings, including the Attikon, a 19th-century theater-turned cinema, were torched. Unrest also flared in the second largest city of Thessaloniki, and on the islands of Corfu and Crete.
The violence may have been perpetrated by a minority, but there is little doubt that the onslaught of yet more cuts to wages, spending and public jobs is massively unpopular in Greece.
And the crisis is far from over. The Greek government will be under pressure to deliver on the promises it has made to the international troika of lenders — the European Central Bank, European Union and International Monetary Fund — if it is to secure the 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout it needs to evade default.
The next hurdle for Greece is the meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Wednesday. The government, headed by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, will have to convince the Eurogroup that Athens can come up with yet another 325 million euros in budget savings after political leaders refused to cut pensions. The troika is also demanding written commitments from politicians to implement the deal after April elections.
Athens is also expected to inform the euro zone ministers of a planned debt swap deal with private lenders, which should slash 100 billion euros from Greece’s massive debt burden.
Europe’s Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the parliamentary vote as a “crucial step” on Monday, adding that he was confident that the Greeks would identify the concrete measures for the further 325 million in cuts before Wednesday’s meeting.
German Economics Minister Philipp Roesler cautiously welcomed the Greek parliament’s move but made it clear that German approval of the bailout was not inevitable. “Now we need to wait and see what comes after the legislation,” Roesler told public broadcaster ARD.





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