Greek Parliament Passes Reform Bill Needed For Bailout

Greece's Parliament overwhelmingly approved a new batch of reforms demanded by European leaders in return for a third multibillion euro bailout.

The vote, with more than 200 out of 300 legislators approving, followed a whirlwind debate in the early hours on July 23.

The bill included civil justice reforms, a bank-deposit protection scheme, and measures to shore up the liquidity of the banks.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras once again suffered a revolt among lawmakers from his own radical-left Syriza party.

But as he is riding high in opinion polls, he appeared to have suffered fewer defections than in last week's vote on a first package of tough pension and tax reforms demanded by the European Union.

The legislation once again passed easily with the backing of pro-European opposition parties.

The reforms were the final prerequisite before Greece can start negotiations with creditors on a third bailout worth around 85 billion euros ($94 billion).

Based on reporting by AP and AFP