Greek MPs early on Thursday passed key reforms demanded by creditors as a condition for starting talks on a new €86bn bailout later this week, amid signs of a looming split in the governing Syriza party.
A vote by the 300-member parliament came after hours of continuous discussion dominated by lawmakers from Syriza, among them dissidents opposed to a third “memorandum”, the Greek term for the deeply unpopular rescue packages that successive governments have tried to implement since 2010.
Euclid Tsakalotos, the finance minister, earlier told parliament the vote would clear the way for negotiations on the new bailout to begin on Friday with the aim of wrapping up a deal by mid-August.