Greek Parliament OKs Austerity Budget

But Europe still hasn't settled on aid package
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2012 10:22 AM CST
Greek Parliament OKs Austerity Budget
Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his party's lawmakers applaud after voting on the country's 2013 budget in Athens, early Monday, Nov. 12, 2012.   (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Following the tight passage of an austerity package last week, Greece's parliament has approved a 2013 austerity budget. The budget, part of a plan to receive further foreign financing, passed by a margin of 167 to 128, the New York Times reports. It cuts salaries, pensions, and benefits by some $12 billion, raises taxes, and boosts the retirement age from 65 to 67; public sector workers' salaries will also shrink by a third. During the vote, some 20,000 protesters demonstrated outside parliament.

The budget—with $17.2 billion in total cuts over two years—promises even tougher times for citizens of a country where one in five lives below the poverty line and unemployment is at 25%, the Atlantic Wire notes. "Greece has done its part; now it’s the turn of the lenders," said Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. But at a meeting today in Brussels, eurozone finance leaders won't be making a final call on Greek aid; the European Union and International Monetary Fund still haven't reached agreement on how much help Greece should get. A former European Central Bank official says it's time for Europe to step up and "find a solution"—but another economist tells CNBC he doubts Greece will stay in the eurozone next year. (More austerity measures stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X