Greece clears loan hurdle

Greece yesterday adopted the last piece of legislation lenders required to release the next batch of rescue loans, concluding two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy.

Legislators convened during the summer break to approve a new tax code and put finishing touches to a controversial transfer scheme for civil servants.

The bill’s passage will unlock €5.8bn of bailout funds from the eurozone, its national central banks, and the IMF. Athens is expected to start receiving the funds from Monday.

They include €2.5bn from the eurozone’s EFSF rescue fund, €1.5bn of bond profit returns from eurozone central banks, and €1.8bn from the IMF.

Subject to implementation of further reforms, Athens stands to receive another €1bn in October.

Yesterday’s vote resolved the latest negotiation round between Athens and its lenders, which started in early June and stretched to the limit the cohesion of its shaky government.

The troika will return in the autumn to find out if the government needs to find further savings to meet its 2015-2016 budget targets.