그리스 긴축안 의회 통과
2011.06.30 07:40:33
그리스가 디폴트(채무불이행)를 피하기 위한 9부 능선을 넘었다.
29일 그리스 의회는 280억유로 규모의 재정긴축안을 담은 중기재정계획법안을 재적의원 과반수 이상의 찬성으로 가결시켰다. 전체 의원 300명 중 298명이 투표에 참여한 가운데 찬성 155표, 반대 138표, 기권 5표로 법안을 통과시켰다.
그리스 의회는 30일 500억유로 규모의 국유자산매각법안의 찬반 투표를 앞두고 있지만 재정긴축안이 가결됨에 따라 사실상 통과 가능성이 커졌다. 당초 유로존과 국제통화기금(IMF)은 29일 1100억유로의 구제금융 중 5차 지원분 120억유로를 집행할 예정이었다. 그러나 이달 중순 유로존 재무장관회의에서 그리스가 재정긴축안을 통과시키지 않으면 예정된 120억유로를 지원하지 않기로 결정했다.
이에 따라 이날 중기재정계획이 부결됐다면 그리스는 120억유로의 구제금융을 지원받지 못하게 될 수도 있었다. 이렇게 되면 다음달 15일 만기 도래하는 채권 24억유로와 8월 만기도래하는 채권 66억유로를 상환하지 못해 디폴트에 빠질 수밖에 없었다.
지난주 집권 여당인 사회당에서 최소 2명의 의원이 중기재정계획법안에 반대 의견을 피력하면서 부결될 수도 있다는 위기감이 고조되기도 했다. 그러나 이날 그리스 의회가 중기재정계획법안을 의회에서 가결시킴에 따라 최악의 상황은 피할 수 있게 됐다. 앞으로 그리스는 2015년까지 재정긴축안을 계획대로 이행해야 하는 과제를 안게 됐다.
한편 이날 재정긴축안 통과로 29일 10년 만기 그리스 국채 금리는 하루 전보다 0.239%포인트 하락한 16.214%까지 떨어졌다.
Greece clears final hurdle to get bailout funds
ATHENS, Greece — Greece bought itself time to deal with its crippling debt crisis Thursday after lawmakers passed the second and final austerity bill essential for the release of crucial bailout funds that will prevent the country from defaulting next month.
The European Union and International Monetary Fund had demanded Parliament pass two bills — an austerity law and a second bill detailing how it will be implemented — by June 30 before they approve a euro12 billion ($17.3 billion) installment from the country's euro110 billion ($159 billion) package of rescue loans.
Without the next installment of rescue loans, Greece was to run out of money in mid-July.
Despite that overhanging threat, many Greeks were angry at yet more austerity. A 48-hour general strike and outbreaks of violence on the streets of Athens brought much of Greece to a standstill in the run up to Wednesday's vote on euro28 billion ($40.5 billion) worth of spending cuts and tax hikes and a euro50 billion ($72 billion) sell-off of state enterprises.
Fears of a Greek default have weighed heavy on global markets in recent weeks — investors have been fretting that a default could trigger a major banking crisis and turmoil in global markets, similar to what happened when the Lehman Brothers investment house collapsed in 2008 in the United States.
Concerns of a near-term default have been eased as the money will see Greece through September. That's clearly evident in the performance of global markets in the past couple of days. Athens' main stock market closed another 1.1 percent higher Thursday.
"Greece has bought more time," said economist Vagelis Agapitos. "This time however will start running out rather quickly unless Greece starts to deliver on its promises."
The worst case scenario is that Greece may only have a couple of months to show it is doing so — in September, it will once again have to prove it has implemented all it has promised in order to receive any further funds from last year's bailout package.
One particular point of interest will be what progress it is making on the privatization drive in light of continued union opposition. Few state enterprises are immune from being sold off, from the race track and ports to the state electricity company.
Even if Greece gets through the next hurdle in September, there are still real worries that the country will end up eventually having to restructure its debts — negotiating longer repayment times or giving creditors less than the full amount owed. Many economists believe Greece will ultimately have to default on its debts at some point as the scale of the debt at euro340 billion is just too big for a country of only 11 million people to service.
For now though, the Greek government has conceded it is going to need more help and is in talks for a second bailout. Last year's package was predicated on Greece being able to tap bond market investors for cash next year, but with the country's interest rates at exorbitant levels, that looks highly unlikely.
As well as rubber-stamping the release of the next batch of bailout funds, finance ministers from the eurozone are expected to discuss the terms of a second bailout at their meeting Sunday in Brussels. The IMF is also expected to clear the immediate funds next week.
The involvement of the private sector in any second bailout is likely to feature heavily at the Brussels discussions after German banks agreed to rollover some of the debts Greece owes them. The news that the German banks are willing to contribute to a second rescue package follows on the heels of a similar announcement earlier this week from their French counterparts. Details of the initiatives remain sketchy.
"Of course we have major difficulties ahead of us," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said in the debate before Thursday's vote. "It is not just that we must negotiate with the EU, the eurozone countries, our institutional partners and the IMF. The point is that in the turbulence of the of the global markets and banking system, we are victims for a large part and a test case for the strength of our institutions."
Parliament passed the second law by 155 votes to 136 Thursday, a day after voting through the main austerity bill in a vote held as rioters clashed with police outside parliament in a second day of violence.
More than 300 people were injured in two days of mayhem in central Athens, which saw rioters pelting police with anything they could find, and police responding with a barrage of stun grenades and tear gas that still lingered in the city's central square on Thursday morning. Windows at cafes and shops were smashed, and a post office housed on the ground floor of the finance ministry building torched. Burning barricades set up across central streets smoldered into the early hours of Thursday.
The austerity measures, which slap taxes even on the lowest paid, have sparked repeated strikes and demonstrations. The riots on Tuesday and Wednesday came during a 48-hour general strike that disrupted services across the country, forcing airlines to cancel or reschedule flights, halting nearly all public transport and leaving ferries tied up in port.
The EU welcomed Thursday's vote, with the heads of the EU commission and council, Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy saying it was a "decisive step Greece needed to take in order to return to a sustainable path. In very difficult circumstances, it was another act of national responsibility."
Protesters run away from riot police in Athens, June 28.
A stick-wielding man charges at a police officer during a 48-hour general strike in Athens, June 28.
A protester throws a projectile at police in front of the Parliament, June 28.
Greece dept crisis-News Analysis-06-17-2011
Riot police arrest demonstrators in Athens, June 29.
A protester throws a tear gas canister at riot police during a 48-hour general strike in Athens, June 28.
Riot police stand guard in front of the Greek Parliament, June 29.
Communist party lawmaker Liana Kanelli enters her car after protesters threw yogurt on her face as she tried to reach the Greek Parliament, June 29.
A man drives with his dog past riot police blocking access to the Greek Parliament, June 29.
A riot policeman strikes a demonstrator in central Athens, June 29.
A protester shouts in front of riot police in Athens, June 29.
An injured protester is tended to in Athens, June 29.
Police clash with protesters in Athens, June 29.
Demonstrators clash with riot police in front of the Greek Parliament, June 29.
Protesters clash with riot police in front of the Greek Parliament, June 29.
People carry an injured protester in Athens, June 29.
People run away from tear gas during a protest at Syntagama Square in Athens, June 29.
Police arrest a protester during clashes in central Athens, June 29.
A Greek Orthodox priest drives his buggy next to riot police during clashes in central Athens, June 29.
Protesters brace to square off against riot police in front of the Greek Parliament.
A protester throws a stone at riot police in front of the Greek Parliament, June 29.
Demonstrators clash with riot police in front of the Greek Parliament, June 29.
Athens Riot Madness
Latest dramatic footage of Syntagma square riot
Riot policemen evade a Molotov cocktail near the Greek Parliament, June 29.
Riot police protect the Parliament in Athens.
A protester kicks a tear gas canister back at police in Syntagma Square.
Protesters, their faces covered with a liquid antacid to help protect against the effects of tear gas, sit during clashes between riot police and other protesters, June 29.
A protester sprays riot police with a fire extinguisher in Syntagma Square, June 29.
Demonstrators cower from the impact of stun grenades in front of Parliament in Athens, June 29.
A protester prepares to hit riot police with a stick during clashes at Syntagma Square, central Athens, on Wednesday, June 29.
A bleeding protester is seen following clashes with riot police at Syntagma square in central Athens on June 29.
Riot police fire tear gas to disperse protesters during clashes near the Greek Parliament on June 29 in Athens.
A protester holds stones during violent protests around Syntagma square in Athens on June 29. Greek police fired teargas and battled masked demonstrators who attacked the finance ministry on Wednesday after lawmakers passed the first of two austerity bills demanded by international lenders to stave off default.
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