By Nektaria Stamouli, Wall Street Journal
ATHENS—Greece's parliament Wednesday approved legislation containing changes needed for the country to receive an installment of €1 billion ($1.3 billion) from a bailout package by the International Monetary Fund and its European peers.
The omnibus bill was approved by a reduced quorum due to the summer session of Parliament, which will now break for a summer holiday before reconvening around Aug. 26.
The legislation requires that taxpayers or companies found guilty of tax evasion have their tax registration number suspended or withdrawn.
The number is required for many everyday transactions in Greece, such as paying employees, trading with suppliers or buying an asset.
The measure also calls for public-sector workers to receive job evaluations and for the recruitment of 400 additional tax collectors with university education.
One of the most contentious changes approved was the merger of a number of auxiliary pension funds. That will lead to the lump-sum benefits for some public-sector retirees being slashed by half.
Members of the armed forces, who are among those affected, protested in central Athens earlier Wednesday to express their opposition to the cuts. The government is already in a dispute with those groups, as it hasn't yet complied with a court decision saying retroactive cuts to uniformed officers' wages were unconstitutional. The court said some €200 million must be returned to the officers.
The bill also includes the creation of a committee that will examine the assets declared by ministers, lawmakers and other political figures in their income disclosure forms submitted each year.
It also calls for a study to delineate Greece's coastline, which has been the focus of debate. Earlier this summer, the country's coalition government was forced to withdraw a draft law relaxing restrictions on commercial activity near beaches.
Government officials are expected to hold their next meeting with a troika of international lenders from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF in Paris, instead of Athens, on Sept. 3-5.
The meeting in the French capital represents the first step in the next troika review. A more detailed assessment of the country's overhaul program is expected later in September or early October in Athens.
