Greece gets go-ahead for €86bn EU bailout
GREECE secured an €86bill i on rescue package l ast night – in a deal European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker said would keep the country i n the eurozone.
The breakthrough means the EU loans will be made available over the next three years, should Greece meet its targets.
Irish government sources told the Mail that Ireland would have to contribute 2 per cent towards the cost of the bailout – more than €1.5billion – most of which has already been contributed into the European Stability Mechanism, which is Europe’s bailout fund.
It comes as Greece’s parliament passed a slew of painful reforms and spending cuts.
The vote in Athens passed after a marathon overnight session but divided the governing Syriza party, r aising t he spectre of early elections.
Welcoming the fact that a deal looked likely last night, Minister of State at t he Department of Finance, Simon Harris, said: ‘I am pleased that a bailout agreement has been reached for Greece.
‘It is regrettable that so much time was lost over the last few months and the damage that that caused to the Greek economy and most importantly to the Greek people. If ever proof was needed that you can’t just bang the table and walk away from negotiations, Greece is that proof.
‘Instead you must do what we in Ireland did; negotiate with European partners and pursue policies to get your economy back on track and to create jobs and employment. There is a difficult road ahead for Greece but the fact that they are now engaging and a new tranche of bailout funding is available to them is some progress.’
The bailout bill passed through the Greek parliament thanks to support from opposition parties, with 222 votes in favour, 64 against, 11 abstentions and three absent in the 300-member parliament.
Although approved by a comfort- able majority, the result was a blow to Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, who saw more than 40 of his 149 radical-left Syriza party lawmakers vote against him.
He has come under intense criticism from party hardliners for capitulating to the creditors’ demands for budget cuts – austerity measures he had promised to oppose when he won elections in January. The bill includes reforms increasing personal, company and shipping taxes, reducing some pensions, abolishing tax breaks for some groups considered vulnerable and implementing deep spending cuts, including to the armed forces.
The mounting discord within Syriza is threatening to split the party and could lead to early elections. Mr Tsipras has maintained his public popularity in Greece despite his U-turn on austerity policies, and consistently leads opposition parties in opinion polls. An election would allow him to remove the hard-line elements from his party, but it is not a risk-free option.
Joan Hoey, senior analyst for Europe at the Economist Intelligence Unit, warned: ‘An election in the next few months would create more political uncertainty, delay economic recovery and impede reform implementation.
Tsipras under intense pressure