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25 July 2013

Reuters: Greece clears last hurdle to unlock EU-IMF bailout funds


Greece adopted the last piece of legislation its international lenders required to release the next batch of rescue loans, ending two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy.

Greek lawmakers convened during the parliamentary summer recess to approve a new tax code and put finishing touches to a controversial transfer scheme for civil servants. The bill's passage will unlock €5.8 billion of bailout funds from the euro area, its national central banks and the International Monetary Fund.

The parliamentary vote resolved the latest negotiation round between Athens and its lenders, which started in early June and stretched to the limit the cohesion of its shaky government. Opposition to the bailout has intensified as the country goes through its sixth year of recession and unemployment hovers at a record rate of 27 per cent. Bailout money for Athens runs out at the end of 2014 and the country is expected to need further relief to make its debt sustainable - even though it has already received about 90 per cent of the €240 billion earmarked to protect it from a chaotic default and possible exit from the eurozone.

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© Reuters


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