European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn today welcomed the "positive" overnight vote in the Greek parliament to enact further austerity in exchange for a new financial rescue.
"I welcome the positive vote of the Greek parliament on the second programme," Rehn said, which he termed an expression of the country's "determination" to end its "spiral of unsustainable debt."
He said the European Commission remains strongly committed to assisting the Greek government to achieve the objectives of returning to sustainable growth and employment. Mr Rehn warned that the this objective would take time and effort by Greek society.
The Commissioner also called on the Greek authorities to take full ownership of the bail-out plan. He said it was evident that the previous Greek economic model had no possibility of continuing as the country had lived beyond its means for a decade.
He said he recognised that implementing the measures would be very demanding, but he argued that they would redress what he called the difficult situation.
The Commissioner also condemned what he called the unacceptable violence in Athens and other Greek cities. He said the individuals who carried out the violence do not represent the country's real citizens who are concerned for the country and are showing resilience.
Greece approves latest round of austerity cuts
Greek deputies last night approved a new round of drastic austerity measures after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured and Athens buildings ablaze.
Deputies defied a 100,000-strong turnout by demonstrators in Athens and Thessaloniki and approved another round of stringent budget measures sought by Greece's international creditors in return for a multi-billion rescue fund.
Markets were cheered by the move, with the euro rising in Asian trade this morning while Asian stocks were also higher. European stock markets were also higher this morning.
"If we collapse, we won't be able to fix anything anymore - the package is the country's only hope," Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos had said before the tense vote, with thousands of police standing guard outside.
Of 278 deputies present, 199 voted for, and 74 against the measures, parliament speaker Philippos Petsalnikos said. Rebels from Greece's majority socialist Pasok party and the rightwing New Democracy who voted against the legislation were immediately expelled from their parties.
Papademos had told deputies to "assume their responsibility" and make the most important choice of "advancing with Europe and the single currency."
On Syntagma Square, which adjoins parliament and has become a hub of popular anger, emergency workers braved a barrage of rocks and tear gas to evacuate the wounded. Protesters brandished homemade flame throwers, in addition to the usual petrol bombs.
As nearby shops burned, fire engines were initially unable to intervene because of the size of the protest and the chaos that filled the streets around parliament. When the masked protesters tried to break through the riot police cordon around parliament, the standoff turning into running battles.
The civil protection ministry counted 40 fires in Athens with several buildings set ablaze, most of them by petrol bombs. The health ministry said 54 people were injured.
An estimated 80,000 protesters gathered in Athens, police said, matching the biggest turnouts achieved against earlier austerity packages last year, while around 20,000 also demonstrated in Greece's second city of Thessaloniki.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos had told parliament that Greece would be forced to default if lawmakers did not back the government-approved plan to unlock a €130 billion rescue fund from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
The vote will not in itself release the much-needed funds and euro zone finance ministers who say their patience has been sorely tested by Athens are set to meet on Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the next step.
The pressure on Greece is huge as euro zone leaders turn increasingly impatient with Athens and less concerned about the wider dangers of the debt-crippled country stumbling out of the single currency bloc.
Philipp Roesler, the economy minister of European economic powerhouse Germany, said on Sunday that the prospect of such an exit is becoming a "D-Day" that is "less scary."
Greek deputies also have to back a bond swap agreed with private creditors which will wipe out around €100 billion from Greece's debt.
Venizelos said the government must carry out the bond swap by Friday in order to have enough time to prevent a chaotic bankruptcy when Greece must pay nearly €14.5 billion in maturing debt on March 14. "If that does not happen, the country will be bankrupt," Venizelos said.
Eurogroup finance ministers were meant to approve the new bail-out last week but balked on fears that Athens - which is struggling with a €350 billion debt mountain - would fall short of meeting its commitments.
Even with parliament's approval, the EU wants Greek political leaders to sign a commitment to adhere to the austerity measures before Papademos holds elections expected in April.
The new austerity measures are likely to heap more hardship on ordinary Greeks already suffering from the debt crisis. They involve a 22% cut in the minimum wage, with 32% for workers under 25; deregulating the labour market to make it easier to lay off workers; and a package of tax and pension reforms.
Yesterday's protesters denounced what they described as blackmail by the international troika of the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank.
