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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| Greece passes key austerity vote | Greece passes key austerity vote |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts. | The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts. |
| The proposed tax hikes and spending cuts have been deeply unpopular with the Greek public. | The proposed tax hikes and spending cuts have been deeply unpopular with the Greek public. |
| A nationwide 48-hour strike is under way and violent clashes are continuing in the streets of the capital, Athens. | A nationwide 48-hour strike is under way and violent clashes are continuing in the streets of the capital, Athens. |
| Greece is heavily in debt and the package is needed to win the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan. | Greece is heavily in debt and the package is needed to win the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan. |
| MPs passed the measures by 155 votes to 138, prompting a furious response by protesters on the streets of Athens. | MPs passed the measures by 155 votes to 138, prompting a furious response by protesters on the streets of Athens. |
| Parliament will hold a second vote on Thursday aimed at reforming laws to allow the package to be implemented. | Parliament will hold a second vote on Thursday aimed at reforming laws to allow the package to be implemented. |
| 'No time to step back' | 'No time to step back' |
| Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Prime Minister George Papandreou urged MPs to approve the package by consensus. | Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Prime Minister George Papandreou urged MPs to approve the package by consensus. |
| He had faced wavering support from within his governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament. | He had faced wavering support from within his governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament. |
| But in the end, only one Pasok deputy voted against the package. There were two abstentions, while five deputies merely noted they were present. | But in the end, only one Pasok deputy voted against the package. There were two abstentions, while five deputies merely noted they were present. |
| Mr Papandreou says his austerity plan is the only way to get Greece back on its feet. | Mr Papandreou says his austerity plan is the only way to get Greece back on its feet. |
| "We must avoid the country's collapse at all costs. Now is not the time to step back," he told deputies. | "We must avoid the country's collapse at all costs. Now is not the time to step back," he told deputies. |
| Were his 28bn-euro austerity package to be rejected, Greece could run out of money within weeks, as the EU and the International Monetary Fund want the measures implemented before they release more funds to help Greece pay off its vast debts. | Were his 28bn-euro austerity package to be rejected, Greece could run out of money within weeks, as the EU and the International Monetary Fund want the measures implemented before they release more funds to help Greece pay off its vast debts. |
| Top EU officials welcomed the result as a "vote of national responsibility", saying it had pulled Greece away from the "very grave scenario of default" while paving the way for a second aid package. | Top EU officials welcomed the result as a "vote of national responsibility", saying it had pulled Greece away from the "very grave scenario of default" while paving the way for a second aid package. |
| "The country has taken an important step forward along the necessary path of fiscal consolidation and growth-enhancing structural reform," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement. | "The country has taken an important step forward along the necessary path of fiscal consolidation and growth-enhancing structural reform," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement. |
| 'Unfair but necessary' | 'Unfair but necessary' |
| Once news that the vote had passed trickled out to the streets of Athens, fighting broke out with a new level of brutality, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in the Greek capital. | Once news that the vote had passed trickled out to the streets of Athens, fighting broke out with a new level of brutality, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in the Greek capital. |
Greek tragedy | Greek tragedy |
| Total Greek debt | Total Greek debt |
| The economy | The economy |
| Working population | Working population |
| EU demands | EU demands |
| The riot police engaged in behaviour that would never be tolerated in other parts of Europe, throwing stones back at the protesters, says our correspondent. | The riot police engaged in behaviour that would never be tolerated in other parts of Europe, throwing stones back at the protesters, says our correspondent. |
| Police corralled demonstrators into the metro station outside parliament in Syntagma Square, and fired tear gas down the stairwells, he adds. | Police corralled demonstrators into the metro station outside parliament in Syntagma Square, and fired tear gas down the stairwells, he adds. |
| Meanwhile, protesters set fire to a post office on the ground floor of the finance ministry in the square. | Meanwhile, protesters set fire to a post office on the ground floor of the finance ministry in the square. |
| The air outside parliament was thick with plumes of tear gas and smoke as clashes continued near the square between masked protesters - armed with rocks and sticks - and riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades. | The air outside parliament was thick with plumes of tear gas and smoke as clashes continued near the square between masked protesters - armed with rocks and sticks - and riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades. |
| Dozens of police and protesters were injured in the violence. | Dozens of police and protesters were injured in the violence. |
| "Let the prime minister come down here and see if he can live on 300 euros a month," one female protester told the BBC outside parliament. | "Let the prime minister come down here and see if he can live on 300 euros a month," one female protester told the BBC outside parliament. |
| 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%. | 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%. |
| The vote covered the first part of Greece's austerity package, focusing on raising taxes to secure some 14.09bn euros over the next five years and introducing 14.32bn euros in public spending cuts. | The vote covered the first part of Greece's austerity package, focusing on raising taxes to secure some 14.09bn euros over the next five years and introducing 14.32bn euros in public spending cuts. |
| Ahead of Wednesday's vote, the governor of Greece's central bank, George Provopoulos, said a 'no' vote would be "suicide" for the country. | Ahead of Wednesday's vote, the governor of Greece's central bank, George Provopoulos, said a 'no' vote would be "suicide" for the country. |
| Thursday's vote is over the implementation of different parts of the package, such as tax rises and the sale of state assets. | Thursday's vote is over the implementation of different parts of the package, such as tax rises and the sale of state assets. |
| 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. | 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. |
| The impact of the Greek vote would be felt worldwide said Herman Van Rompuy, president of the EU Commission, on Tuesday. | The impact of the Greek vote would be felt worldwide said Herman Van Rompuy, president of the EU Commission, on Tuesday. |
| Recently appointed Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos acknowledged that the cuts were "unfair", though absolutely necessary. | Recently appointed Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos acknowledged that the cuts were "unfair", though absolutely necessary. |
| But the main opposition leader, Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy party, said the thinking behind the austerity package was flawed, and that tax rates should be lowered rather than raised in order to stimulate the economy. | But the main opposition leader, Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy party, said the thinking behind the austerity package was flawed, and that tax rates should be lowered rather than raised in order to stimulate the economy. |