The Athens parliament approves new austerity measures – Rai News

The yes arrives in the evening with 152 votes in favor. The measures were requested by the European Union’s creditors to unlock new aid of over 5.4 billion

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22 May 2016 Yes Greece’s new austerity measures. The Parliament in Athens approved the package by 152 votes in favor, with strikes and demonstrations in Syntagma Square.

The law to control public accounts provides inter alia for the rise of a VAT point. Consisting of 7 thousand pages, this measure will help to Greece to obtain a new tranche of aid of over 5.4 billion euro by the Eurogroup.

Against the law took to the streets thousands of people in front of the Parliament, in a city paralyzed by the strike of public transport. There were no accidents.

The measures requested by creditors predict an increase in VAT from 23 to 24% on various products, including coffee electric cigarettes, pay TV, luxury

goods; the introduction of a tax; the abolition of tax relief to the Greek islands, the creation of an Independent Authority on revenue to combat counterfeiting and evasion, the increase in excise duties on fuel. It will also be activated – as demanded by Berlin – a new fund, called the Society of Public Investments, for privatizations. The objective of the fund, which will be transferred to thousands of public real estate assets, is to accelerate the transfers and implement collections.

Two days ago, the European Commissioner for Economic Pierre Moscovici had said that “with a little ‘will and a little’ work agreement” to unlock aid “is at hand” and a green light seems to come as early Eurogroup next Tuesday in Brussels. Another effort by Athens, then and later, according to Moscovici, Greece could return to growth as early as the second half of 2016 and continue with significant growth. “We think of a + 2.7% in 2017,” said Moscovici “but on the condition that reforms are made.”