Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has won a parliamentary majority in favour of an implementation law for a five-year austerity plan required under an EU/IMF bailout package.
Papandreou's Socialist government won the vote 155 to 136 in the 300-seat chamber to secure both overall passage of the legislation and the separate articles.
Yesterday the government won a first vote on the outlines of the tough programme of cuts and sell-offs by 155 votes to 138.
'I am very satisfied because now I can go to (the) Euro group strengthened by a vote of confidence and two approved bills,' finance minister Evangelos Venizelos told Reuters news agency. 'We can now move to the next stage of finding a viable solution.'
The vote clears the way for approval of the next tranche of its bail-out and for progress on a new round of financial help, the EU's top two officials said.
'This was the second, decisive step Greece needed to take in order to return to a sustainable path,' European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement.
'In very difficult circumstances, it was another act of national responsibility.
'The conditions are now in place for a decision on the disbursement of the next tranche of financial assistance for Greece and for rapid progress on a second assistance package.
'We reiterate Europe's unwavering support and solidarity for the Greek people, in whose future we are confident.
'In view of the hard work that still lies ahead, we repeat our call for all political parties to work together to take to their country forward.'
Today's bill covers detailed measures to implement the €28 billion in tax hikes, spending targets and privatisations agreed as a condition of the EU/IMF bail-out.
In a boost for Papandreou, the conservative opposition said before the vote that it was willing to support some measures in the second bill to have it passed.
Only one member of Papandreou's Socialist party voted against yesterday's bill and he was immediately expelled, leaving the government with 154 deputies in the 300-seat chamber.
Parliament must approve both bills for the European Union and International Monetary Fund to release a €12 billion loan - essential for Greece to meet debt payments in July - under a €110 billion bail-out agreed in May of last year.
Meanwhile, Germany's financial institutions will contribute €3.2 billion to a rescue for Greece, the details of which still have to be finalised, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said today.
'This concerns debt maturing by 2014 of about €2 billion.
'Added to this are German bad banks (...) which have debt maturing of €1.2 billion, so that we expect maturities of €3.2 billion in total,' Schaeuble told a news conference.
That amount due by 2014 would be reoffered, Schaeuble said after meeting with the heads of top German financial institutions.
