Another 5 members of the 300-seat house voted present, a kind of abstention.
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Officials in Athens and at the European Union said negotiators are expected to start arriving Friday, marking the first time high-level talks will be held in the Greek capital since Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing government assumed power in late January.
The International Monetary Fund confirmed receipt of Greece’s request, and said that it will discuss with Greek and EU authorities “the timing and the modalities” of talks on a possible third bailout. A total of 36 Syriza MPs voted against or abstained on the measures, three fewer than at a similar vote last week.
Assuming agreement on a new set of reforms were reached by then, it would be likely to signed and ratified by some national parliaments in September.
“We have stability here: Reliable taxation, sound legislation and a positive environment”, said Ioannis Politis, manager of Greek hygiene products company Septona, which established a plant in the northern Bulgarian city of Ruse 10 years ago. It also toughens law on foreclosures, though Tsipras pledged his government would not allow banks to seize primary residences.
“People come into the shop but they ask about the prices and don’t buy anything”, he said. “And as far as I’m concerned, I won’t abandon this bastion, at least of my own free will”.
The reforms debated this week included changes to Greek banking and an overhaul of the judiciary.
But sources indicate that creditors are less optimistic about a deal being finalized so soon.
The Washington-based lender of last resort typically sends a team of economists, led by a mission chief, to assess a borrowing country’s economic health and negotiate reforms.
On Wednesday, the European Central Bank provided a new vital cash injection to Greece’s battered banks. Daily withdrawals at ATMs are still limited to 60 euros ($65) per account holder, and the Athens Stock Exchange has been closed indefinitely. Extra ECB liquidity means that Greek banks will still be able to hand out cash.
Strict controls on the amounts individuals can withdraw remain and new austerity taxes demanded by the country’s European creditors mean that most everyday items are more expensive – from coffee to taxis to cooking oil. Konstantopoulou told parliament on Thursday that Syriza had been forced “by our so-called partners” to embrace policies it is “diametrically opposed to”.
Last week, Greece passed an initial set of austerity measures, including tax rises and pushing back the retirement age.
An increase in the number of dissenters would have left Tsipras politically hamstrung.
“Francois Hollande is very good at telling others how to do their reforms”, opposition French conservative Xavier Bertrand said in a dig at France’s Socialist leader, a key broker in the Greek accord.
But party critics insisted they continued to back Tsipras while disagreeing with a third bailout.
Retail associations fear a return to the peak levels of unemployment around 2012 when they were hit by a surge of business failures.
In a passionate speech to the chamber, Tsipras argued Greece had to adapt to the “new realities” of the agreement if it wanted to avoid a default on its debts and a messy exit from the euro.
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Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili admitted the government was facing a “political problem” and said “planned procedures” would be implemented to address it.
