Greek Lawmakers Pass Additional Austerity Measures By NIKI KITSANTONIS
ATHENS — Greek lawmakers approved a new set of austerity measures Tuesday evening, including further trims in pensions and the transfer of major state assets to a new privatization fund to be overseen by the country’s creditors.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of workers protested outside Parliament, railing against further pension cuts and describing the planned privatizations as “the biggest sell-off of national wealth in the country’s history.”
The legislation was approved by a 152-141 vote, an outcome that was expected as Greece’s ruling coalition retains a slim majority in the 300-seat Parliament. But the debate preceding the vote was particularly vehement, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had to intervene to secure the support of two coalition lawmakers.
The transfer of the assets, including major organizations such as the country’s power corporation and the water boards of Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is one of a raft of measures demanded by Greece’s creditors in exchange for bailout funding worth 2.8 billion euros....
By NIKI KITSANTONIS