Greece also hopes the vote will open the door to a discussion on easing the terms of its loans. ATHENS, GREECE—Greece’s parliament on Sunday passed an omnibus reform bill providing for tax hikes, more austerity reforms and a new privatization superfund, which will manage almost all state property. Greece now hopes the creditors will complete the first assessment of its third bailout program, freeing loan disbursements that will allow Greece to meet its obligations and avoid default. But it will have to navigate differences between the International Monetary Fund, which has called for a generous debt cut albeit with more austerity measures, and the Europeans, chief among them German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who want no such cuts. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras blasted opposition parties after a four-day debate for supporting the country's third bailout in August 2015, but not the laws that have been voted on as prerequisites for concluding the assessment.

Source: thestar May 22, 2016 16:37 UTC