גריכנלאנד: צום דריטן בעיל-אויס

The positive evaluation by the three institutions will form a key part of discussions among eurozone finance ministers when they meet in Brussels at 15h on Saturday (11 July). Leaders from the eurozone and the broader EU are due to meet in Brussels on Sunday. If ministers have agreed to start loan talks, leaders will have no formal decisions to make, but may want to hear more from Tsipras about his plans. Without a deal, they would have to discuss how to contain the fallout a Greek bankruptcy would have on the wider European economy.

After the jubilation in Athens following the resounding rejection of further austerity in a referendum, there was bitterness that parliament was being asked to accept a strikingly similar package of measures.

The leader of the right wing Independent Greeks party, the junior coalition party in Tsipras' government, said his lawmakers would back the proposals "with a heavy heart".

Five members of Syriza's hardline Left Platform wing signed a letter saying it would be better to return to the drachma, Greece's pre-euro currency, than to swallow more austerity with no debt write-off.

"The proposals are not compatible with the Syriza program," Lafazanis, who belongs to the far-left faction, told Reuters before the vote.

Underlining the unhappiness of many on the left at the government's apparent embrace of austerity, a few thousand demonstrators gathered in front of parliament before the vote to protest against the measures.

Germany, which has contributed more to bailouts than any other country, sounded wary. A finance ministry spokesman ruled out any debt restructuring that would lower its real value.

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

France, Greece's most powerful supporter in the eurozone, rushed to offer praise. President Francois Hollande called the offer "serious and credible". Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem (פּיקטשערד) described it as a "thorough piece of text" but gave no detail.

The euro gained more than 1% against the dollar on Friday and European markets rallied on the prospects for a last-ditch deal to keep Greece in the currency area.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Greece and its creditors appeared to be closer to a deal, calling for an adjustment to Athens' debt burden to ease its cash flow. (Reuters)

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