Greek parliament OKs civil union for same-sex couples

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's parliament early on Wednesday approved a bill granting same-sex couples the right to a civil union, despite strong opposition from the influential Orthodox church.

The law was supported by 193 lawmakers out of 249 present, with 56 voting against it.

"This is an important day for human rights," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the chamber.

Tsipras said the bill gives same-sex couples "equal rights in life and death," terminating a practice of "backwardness and shame" for Greece.

The new law resolves property and inheritance issues, but makes no provision for the adoption of children.

Amnesty International hailed the move as a "historic step" but noted that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons still faced hostility in Greece.

"Despite this first step, LGBTI people in Greece still live in a climate of hostility from which the authorities are failing to protect them adequately," said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia.

"Physical attacks are on the rise, hate speech is common and goes unchecked by the authorities. Even displays of affection between same-sex couples are censored on television," van Gulik added.

Amnesty further pointed out that the law offers no gender recognition to transgender people.

Greece had been condemned for anti-gay discrimination by the European Court of Human Rights in 2013, after gay couples were explicitly excluded from a prior civil unions law in 2008.

"Instead of celebrating this, we should apologize to thousands of our fellow citizens," Tsipras said.

In addition to Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party, the bill was supported by another four parties.

However the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL), who are part of the governing coalition, voted against the motion.

"The Greek constitution protects motherhood. Is there motherhood in men?" asked ANEL lawmaker Vassilis Kokkalis.

Members of the Greek gay, lesbian and transsexual community had earlier staged protests outside parliament and the Athens cathedral.

"Love is not a sin," read a sign held by protesters as two young men dressed like priests kissed in front of the cathedral.

Greece was until now one of the last European countries where same-sex couples could not receive some kind of official recognition for their relationship.

The country's first two same-sex civil marriages held in 2008 were annulled by a court a year later under pressure from the Greek Orthodox Church, which officially frowns upon same-sex relations.

Lobbying by the church was also instrumental in excluding same-sex couples from benefitting from the 2008 civil union bill which modernized family law and aligned national law with EU rules.

A prominent Greek bishop this week described homosexuality as a "crime" and said "accursed" gays should be "spat upon."

source: interaksyon.com

Greece faces D-Day after 'difficult' bailout talks halted

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Greece on Sunday faced a final EU summit to clinch a deal that would stop Athens crashing out of the euro after divided eurozone ministers halted "very difficult" talks on a new bailout overnight.

Saturday's meeting of the Eurogroup, comprising finance ministers from the 19-nation single currency area, was supposed to pave the way for all 28 European Union leaders to sign a final agreement at an emergency summit the following day, billed as the last chance to keep Greece in the euro.

But skeptical nations demanded more commitments from Athens, amid claims Berlin had drawn up an "internal paper" for Greece to leave the eurozone for five years, while Finland reportedly decided not to accept any new rescue plan for debt-laden Greece.

Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the "issue of credibility and trust was discussed" by ministers, who are wary of the Greek government's commitment to enacting the new reforms which closely resemble those rejected by voters in a surprise referendum.

"We haven't concluded our discussions. It is still very difficult but work is still in progress," said Dijsselbloem after nine hours of grueling talks, adding that they would resume Sunday morning at 0900 GMT.

Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb was more upbeat, despite reports that Finland's parliament has decided it will not allow the government to accept any new bailout deal for Greece.

"We are making good progress," he said.

EU Commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici, who has been among the most sympathetic to Greece's plight, said: "I am always hopeful."

'Climate not easy'

Creditor institutions have called a new reform plan from leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for a third bailout worth more than 80 billion euros ($89 billion) a positive step forward after months of wranglings.

The proposals, including pension cuts and tax hikes, were approved by the Greek parliament in the early hours of Saturday despite opposition within Tsipras's ruling radical Syriza party.

But Germany's hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble poured cold water on early optimism at the start of the talks, accusing Athens of repeatedly reneging on its commitments.

"Definitely we cannot trust promises," Schaeuble said. "In the last months hope has been destroyed in an incredible way, even up to just a few hours ago."

A European source said the German finance ministry had even drawn up an "internal paper" for Greece to leave the eurozone for five years if it fails to improve its bailout proposals, but added it was not distributed at Saturday's meeting.

Another source close to the negotiations said the "climate is not easy" and Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos was in contact with Athens to see how to restore eurozone confidence in Greece.

The Athens News Agency, meanwhile, reported that Greek government sources believed "some countries, for reasons that have nothing to do with the reforms and the program, don't want an agreement." The sources did not name specific countries.

Even if an agreement is reached, at least eight parliaments will have to weigh in on a final accord, with Germany's Bundestag having to vote twice.

Debt mountain

Tsipras won the backing of 251 out of 300 deputies in the Greek parliament for his reform plans, even though they are similar to the ones that Greeks rejected in last week's referendum.

Athens's creditors fear it will not keep its promises after two previous bailouts worth 240 billion euros merely added to a debt mountain, now worth nearly 180 percent of the country's GDP.

Greece dived deeper into the mire when it became the first developed economy to default on a huge payment to the International Monetary Fund on June 30, the same day as its EU bailout expired.

In Greece, there is growing alarm at capital controls that have closed banks and rationed cash at ATMs for nearly two weeks, and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis warned the restrictions will likely stay in place for "months."

Queueing Saturday at a cash machine in Athens, Vassilis Papoutsoglou, 52, said: "We still don't know what will happen tomorrow. Can we expect something better, or is it Armageddon?"

The Greek government hoped the parliamentary vote would give it a mandate to continue the talks with creditors -- but it also revealed the depth of opposition to fresh austerity.

Three senior government figures were among 10 MPs who abstained or voted against, and several others from the ruling leftist Syriza party stayed away, prompting commentators to predict a government shake-up.

Tsipras told parliament the plan was "marginally better" than the proposals put forward by the creditors last month and that Greeks would "succeed not only in staying in Europe but in living as equal peers with dignity and pride."

source: interaksyon.com

U.S. shares drop on Greece uncertainty, rate hike anticipation

NEW YORK - A setback in Greek debt talks pushed U.S. and European shares lower on Friday, along with investor views that positive U.S. data may accelerate the timing for a hike in interest rates.

Oil prices fell on concerns production may rise further.

The International Monetary Fund delegation left Greek debt negotiations on Friday because of "major differences" with Athens on the same day that EU officials held their first formal talks on the possibility of Greece defaulting.

"It's largely the Greek situation again, and that's been played out on a day-to-day basis where you had a huge rally followed by a decline predicated on whether they are coming closer or moving further from a resolution," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

However, the darkening Greek outlook failed to fluster Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who holed up with his negotiators after proclaiming optimism at an open air concert.

The euro inched higher against the dollar after Tsipras'comments even though equity and bond investors were skeptical.

"You have to question whether (the Greeks are) looking at reality," said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

U.S. Treasuries prices ended little changed, with longer-dated yields holding below seven-month highs as concerns about a Greek default supported safety demand for bonds ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting next week.

A U.S. consumer sentiment survey and production data, after strong retail sales data on Thursday, gave a rosy view of the U.S. economy ahead of the Federal Reserve's June 17 policy statement, which may provide clues on timing for the first U.S. rate hike in nearly a decade.

"Both of these led the market, coupled with yesterday's report, to think that the first hike from the Fed could be closer," said OakBrook's Sampson, adding that lift-off could be in the fall, ahead of her previous expectation.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 140.53 points, or 0.78 percent, to 17,898.84, the S&P 500 lost 14.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,094.11 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 31.41 points, or 0.62 percent, to 5,051.10.

The S&P and the Dow showed slight gains for the week while the Nasdaq fell slightly.

Oil fell for a second straight day as investors took profits after Saudi Arabia said it was ready to raise production to record highs, adding to worries over global oversupply.

Brent crude settled down $1.24, or 2 percent, at $63.87. For the week, Brent ended up 0.7 percent. U.S. crude fell 81 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $59.96. It rose 1.5 percent on the week.

In the late afternoon, the dollar index was unchanged after a day of choppy trading against a basket of major currencies while the euro was essentially flat after rising earlier in the day.

MSCI's all-world country index fell 0.4 percent but was on track for its first weekly gain in four, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.8 percent.

source: interaksyon.com