Greek lawmakers rush to clear promised austerity

Page last updated at 08:51 GMT, Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 13:51 EST

Bismarck Tribune:

A pedestrian passes outside a pawnshop in Athens, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012.

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Greece scrambled Wednesday to push through a batch of emergency laws that will further cut incomes and state spending, a day after securing a new bailout and debt relief deal designed to stave off bankruptcy.

The new austerity measures demanded by creditors in return for the rescue loans follow two years of deepening misery, with the Greek economy in freefall, unemployment at a record high and the state of the public finances in worse shape than previously forecast. Angry unions have called two separate protest rallies outside Parliament for later on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the 17-country eurozone approved Greece's second financial lifeline in less than two years, worth euro130 billion ($172 billion), and a euro107 billion ($141 billion) debt writedown by banks and other private holders of Greek bonds.

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