ECB’s Weidmann: Greece Parliament Vote Is An Important Step

BERLIN (MNI) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens
Weidmann on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the Greek parliament to
approve the austerity and structural reform package agreed with EU and
the IMF.

“This is an important step which I welcome,” Weidmann said on the
sidelines of a conference here. “But it is only part of an ongoing
process,” he added.

The Greek package, which includes E28 billion in spending cuts and
tax hikes, as well as a highly controversial privatization program
pegged at E50 billion, came amid ongoing protests in the streets of
Athens on Wednesday and reports of more violence between the protesters
and police.

Officials from the ECB, the European Commission and several
national Eurozone governments had warned that failure to approve the
measures would have dire consequences, including a Greek default on its
debt. The country’s central bank Governor George Provopoulos had warned
the night before the vote that rejection of the package would be
tantamount to national “suicide.”

–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com

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