Greece aid faces delay as stiff austerity measures pass

Greece’s euro partners won’t be able to release the country’s next batch of bailout cash at a meeting next week, even though the Greek parliament narrowly backed more unpopular austerity measures.

Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the 17-country eurozone is not yet in a position to make a decision on releasing the funds, as many in Athens may have hoped. As anticipated, the cash-strapped country still has to pass its budget for 2013 while politicians in some countries, including Germany, have to authorise the release of funds.

“We’re not there yet,” Schäuble said in Hamburg.