Greek Austerity-reform Vote Goes To Assembly After Passing At Special Committees

The plenary session of the Greek parliament will vote on a new round of austerity reforms at 3 a.m. Thursday local time (8 p.m. Eastern), after the parliament's special committees approved it by majority earlier on Wednesday. The austerity package includes a set of reforms demanded by Greece's creditors as a prerequisite for negotiations for a third bailout. The Greek government introduced the bill under an emergency procedure, aiming to get a vote ahead of Friday's crucial talks with its creditors, namely the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Parliament President Zoe Konstantopoulou filed an official complaint against the emergency procedure, calling the fast-track process an "institutional diversion." The vote is expected to split the Syriza party between the hard and moderate anti-austerity groups, in a similar fashion as last week's vote on the first round of austerity measures. Although the Greek government led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras might lose some support from its party, it is expected to receive enough backing by the opposition to get the necessary votes for the bills to pass.