ATHENS (Sputnik) – Out of 294 parliament members participating in the vote, 154 were in favor of approving the reforms. All of them were from the two-party ruling coalition consisting of Syriza and the Independent Greeks (ANEL).
The measures need to be passed ahead of the lenders’ evaluation of Greece’s progress in the implementation of reforms, needed to secure the release of more financial aid.
According to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, the main current objective of the Greek government is to conclude the first review of the country’s bailout before the end of November. This will allow Greece to finish bank recapitalization by the end of 2015 and subsequently start talks on debt restructuring.
Greece received about $270 billion from its main lenders, which include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and Eurozone countries, under two bailout programs, the last of which expired on June 30th.
The aid came in exchange for reforms, such as tax hikes and pension cuts.
In July, Greece's international creditors signed an agreement with the country's government, approving a third bailout package for Athens worth 86 billion euros (about $95 billion) in exchange for more austerity measures.
