Greek parliament backs draft terms for third bailout after heated debate

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece's parliament has backed draft terms for a third bailout in five years after talks that lasted through the night and well into the morning, BBC News reports.

The proposed deal involves tax rises and spending cuts in return for a bailout of about €85bn ($95bn).

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also survived a significant rebellion within his own Syriza party.

The terms of the bailout will be discussed by eurozone finance ministers later on Friday, Aug 14.

The deal received 222 votes for; 64 against and 11 abstentions. But there were 31 "No" votes from Syriza members, and 11 abstentions - the biggest rebellion within Tsipras' party so far.

Reports in Greece said the PM will ask for a confidence vote before parliament in the next week.

The debate itself was preceded by hours of often angry exchanges in parliament. Voting started just after 09:30 local time (06:30 GMT), more than six hours after the main debate began. The debate itself had been delayed by procedural issues, according to the BBC.

Members of parliament had to agree on the terms so that eurozone ministers could endorse the draft deal.

Greece faces an urgent deadline on Aug 20, when it must repay about €3.2bn to the European Central Bank (ECB). If the country had failed to agree on new terms for a bailout, the ECB is likely to have stopped giving emergency funds to Greek banks.

One of Tsipras' most vocal critics within his own party was his former ally, parliamentary speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou. She said she could not support the deal, and faced calls from Tsipras to hurry her handling of the bill. Instead, she took time to raise several concerns, delaying the timing of the debate - to the prime minister's visible frustration.

Another Syriza MP, Panagiotis Lafazanis, told Tsipras: "I feel ashamed for you. We no longer have a democracy, but a eurozone dictatorship."

Tsipras told MPs they were facing a choice between "staying alive or suicide", adding: "I have my conscience clear that it is the best we could achieve under the current balance of power in Europe, under conditions of economic and financial asphyxiation imposed upon us."

After more than seven hours of often passionate, bad-tempered debate, all through the night, PM Tsipras has got his way. The bailout bill has passed by a comfortable majority.

Towards the end of the debate, Tsipras defended what he called a painful but responsible decision. He said the country had no choice. This was not a triumph, he said, but nor was Greece in mourning.