The Greek Parliament had to decide Sunday evening on a controversial pension reform demanded by the EU and IMF creditors, amid protests and on the eve of a meeting of the Eurogroup on Greece.
thousands of protesters, 10,000 according to police, flocked to Athens in the evening, outside the Parliament, where some incidents and tear gas attack took place in the early evening.
These last three days, the protests have multiplied in the capital and in Thessaloniki (northern), especially at the call of the communist left, against this reform which provides for increased pension contributions and taxes .
by late Sunday morning, already nearly 15,000 people demonstrated in these two cities, mostly supporters of the workers struggle Front (Pame), close to the Greek Communist party KKE. His biggest banner demanded: “Social Security, public and compulsory for all The plutocracy must pay.”.
However, the mobilization was significantly less than in the last big demonstration against this reform, February 4, where 50,000 people demonstrated 40,000 including Athens.
Bill recasting the pension system, which was demanded by the country’s creditors in return for new aid plan signed in July, is being debated in Parliament since Saturday morning and had to be put to the vote in the night from Sunday to Monday.
the leftist government of Alexis Tsipras, who has only a small parliamentary majority with 153 deputies out of 300, hopes that the adoption of this reform before the Eurogroup meeting will help to finally open the debate on the thorny issue of debt settlement
-. ‘Tired and disappointed “-
Only members of the government coalition – the Syriza left and sovereignist party Anel – should vote for reform. The opposition parties, including the right of New Democracy, announced they would vote against them.
From the late Easter holidays and “the desperation of people” who are “tired and disappointed by the government of the left”, the mobilization was lower than expected, lamented to AFP Maria, a fifties who showed Sunday.
The government argues that this reform is part “of the agreement between Athens and its creditors last summer for the loan granted to the country.
” We realize that we have agreed with our European partners, “said Finance Minister Eucleide Tsakalotos Saturday night before the deputies of the Assembly, stressing that” the reform protects low income. “
the reform of pensions was necessary to “ensure the sustainability of the social security system” and counter the large deficits of pension funds, said Minister of Employment Georges Katrougalos.
But unions denounce a text that provides the reduction of the highest pensions, merge multiple insurance funds, the increase in contributions, taxes, and taxation for middle and high incomes, and had called for a strike on Friday and Saturday.
for the fourth general strike since the arrival of Mr. Tsipras in January 2015, no public transport had worked.
The pension reform is part of the logic of the government’s efforts to align with the requirements of the creditors who demand savings of 5.4 billion euros by 2018.
Panayiotis Petrakis, economics professor at the University of Athens, mobilizing unions or small government majority does not threaten the reform. “It will be adopted and this is a good choice to get that vote before the Eurogroup,” Has he said to AFP.
Greece is “almost reached” its objectives of reforms desired by its creditors and the Eurogroup will carry out “initial discussions” on a possible development of the country’s debt, said the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview published Sunday in Germany.
05/08/2016 8:22:15 p.m. – Athens (AFP) – AFP © 2016
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