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Greek Lawmakers OK 2015-18 Budget

parliamentBy a vote of 150-119, the Greek Parliament approved a budget plan for the years 2015-18 as part of a deal with international lenders, a blueprint that expects the country’s seven-year recession to end this year but for unemployment to still be around 20 percent in 2016. Thirty-one lawmakers didn’t vote.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country would begin to recover this year but acknowledged he’s not having much luck tackling joblessness, which hit a record 27.6 percent last year and will take years to improve.

Some 1.4 million are out of work during a crushing economic crisis worsened by harsh austerity measures he imposed on orders of the Troika of the Eurpopean Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) putting up 240 billion euros ($330.7 billion)  in two bailouts.

The optimistic budget foresees an increase in growth, beginning at 0.6 percent this year and 2.9 percent next year, although previous estimates have fallen short.

Major opposition Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) leader Alexis Tsipras said the bill would extend austerity measures

The left-wing opposition leader Alexis Tsipras argued the bill was intended to extend austerity beyond the government’s term in office.

Greece has lost roughly a quarter of its output since sinking into recession in 2008. In return for money to avoid bankruptcy, it had to implement harsh austerity measures such as spending cuts.

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