ATHENS: Greece’s parliament adopted a controversial decree ordering all public institutions to hand over their cash reserves to the central bank to help Athens meet its financial obligations.
The decree was adopted by the ruling Syriza party and its junior partner ANEL by 156 votes in favour and 104 against in a noisy debate. The decree says the reserves will be used to cover “the state’s urgent needs, which amount to €3 billion over the next 15 days”.
As talks bog down between Athens and its international creditors to unlock €7.2 billion ($7.7 billion) in bailout funds, the cash-strapped leftwing government last week moved to call in reserves, triggering a wave of anger. The measure will require some 1,400 public institutions — including hospitals and universities to hand over their reserves to help pay civil servants’ wages and debt servicing costs.
It underlines the urgency of the cash crunch faced by Athens and heightened fears that Greece was lurching closer to defaulting on its debt and a potentially chaotic exit from the eurozone. The government estimates the move will raise some €1.5 billion, but local media have put the figure at around €400 million.
