Greece Passes Austerity Budget To Stave Off Bankruptcy

Greece Passes Austerity Budget To Stave Off Bankruptcy

Greece's debt-ridden government approved a rigid budget of spending cuts and tax hikes for 2013 though Parliament early Monday, moving a step closer to secure International aid and stave off bankruptcy.

A total of 167 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill which introduces a fresh round of belt-tightening measures, against 128, as four casted a blank vote with 299 MPs present in the 300-seat Parliament.

PM Antonis Samaras's coalition government has marked another key step in unlocking aid payments to shore up the nation's finances, with both pieces of the legislature required to set free a stalled rescue loan.

Euro zone finance ministers are not expected to sign off on the 31.5 billion-euro tranche of aid to help Greece when they meet in Brussels later Monday; however Samaras said he now expected the funds to be on the way.

'Greece has done its part, now it's the turn of the lenders,' Samaras told the Parliament before the vote, saying the money would be given ' in due time and in full', referring to the release of the bailout tranche.