Shortly before the deadline, Greece. Euro partners reach agreement in debt dispute. Aid program is extended by four months. Athens submits reform list in return. But there is a new dispute over the content.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras without his own majority in parliament
Friday, 27. Febraur, 06.32 pm: Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras apparently could not rely on his own party's deputies for a vote on the austerity compromise with Brussels.
In a test vote at a 12-hour meeting of the Syriza parliamentary group last Wednesday, about a third of the 149 deputies are said to have voted 'no' or abstained, according to FOCUS information.
When Prime Minister Tsipras recognized the great resistance, he gave the order not to count the votes. Syriza party leadership imposed interview bans on its MPs and spread the information that there would have been 141 yes votes.
Since the Greek government gave in to Brussels and promised to stick to austerity measures for an initial four months, parts of the radical-left Syriza party have been rebelling. Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafanzanis insists on stopping or reversing privatizations. He is backed by the party's 'Left Platform' wing, which includes at least 25 deputies. Syriza grouping 'Communist Tendency' calls for party congress. A debate about the change at the top of the party.
Autonomists rage in central Athens – against austerity program
20.09 am: Around 200 hooded people smashed shop windows, destroyed cars and set fire to garbage containers in central Athens on Thursday evening. The riots occurred after an initially peaceful demonstration by the extra-parliamentary left against the extension of the austerity program signed by the Greek left-right government. It was the first demonstration of autonomists after the election victory of the left-wing Syriza party under Greek head of government Alexis Tsipras.
Estonian government gives green light for Greek aid
18.55 o'clock: In Estonia, the government on Thursday gave the green light to extending the aid package for Greece. The cabinet approved the Eurogroup's decision to extend the program until the end of June, according to the Finance Ministry in Tallinn. Now the parliamentary committee for EU affairs has to clear the way for an extension on Friday. Major opposition is not expected, parliamentary circles said. Estonia seen as EU and euro zone's budgetary model student. At 10.5 percent of gross domestic product, the Baltic country has the lowest debt ratio in Europe, according to Eurostat data. In Greece it is 176 percent.
Greece underlines urgency of new aid payments
18.07 a.M: Amid ratification process for new aid payments, Greek government underscored urgency of support payments. At present, there are already "financial and budgetary gaps", Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis said Thursday in Athens. The problem will be discussed with the financiers. Athens is also working on "legislative initiatives to address the issue.".
Union helps Greece only with fist in pocket
15.44 o'clock: When the Bundestag approves the extension of the second Greece program by four months on Friday, there will be great resentment behind the façade of the expected record result. Never before during a euro bailout was the mood in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group as bad as it was this time around. This is not so much due to a new campaign by "Bild-newspaper against Greek aid, but mainly at the actions of the government in Athens. In the end, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and parliamentary group leader Volker Kauder achieved the large approval only in two ways: first, they scheduled a special session, and second, they referred to the decisive vote on Greece at the end of June.