Pundit

Top of the Agenda: Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Measures Amid Violent Riots

The Greek parliament approved fresh austerity measures that were agreed on by government leaders last week, paving the way for a new $170 billion EU-IMF bailout package (NYT). Those funds are considered vital for Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt ahead of a March 20 bond redemption. The new spending cuts and tax increases were voted on this morning, a day after 80,000 people protested in Athens, where they hurled rocks at police and set fire to more than forty buildings. Eurozone leaders are expected to make a final decision on the rescue package (WSJ) in early March.

Analysis

"The discourse over eurozone policy has begun to shift gradually from one focused entirely on austerity to a more growth-oriented approach. Jean Pisani-Ferry, the director of Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, says the ECB could help facilitate growth in countries weighed down by austerity by cutting its policy rate and 'triggering more external demand,'" explains this CFR Analysis Brief.

"Yet what kind of role the ECB will play in the new deal remained unclear. The central bank has bought around €40 billion-worth of Greek bonds (with a face value of perhaps €55 billion) as part of its efforts since May 2010 to stabilize the euro zone's sovereign-bond markets. One hope in Athens is that the ECB might forgo the profits it would make if the bonds were held to maturity," says the Economist's "Free Exchange" blog.

"When you ask people on the street if they would rather Greece went bankrupt than submit to further measures, many now point out that it is already bankrupt, that public sector workers have gone unpaid for months, that hospitals have no supplies, that the poor are being wrung dry in order to pay the banks," writes Maria Margaronis in the Guardian.

PACIFIC RIM

Xi Highlights US-China Business Ties Ahead of Visit

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, set to visit Washington today, said the United States and China should not let differences over economic policies undermine a vital business relationship, while promising to meet "legitimate US concerns" (WaPo) over intellectual property rights, trade imbalance, and its devalued currency.

The Xi visit provides an opportunity for Washington to try to increase the small share of Chinese direct investment in the United States and boost bilateral business ties more broadly, says David Marchick in this new Policy Innovation Memorandum.

MALAYSIA: The government extradited Hamza Kashgari (al-Jazeera), a Saudi journalist who is wanted in his home country over Twitter posts deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad. Many in Saudi Arabia have called for Kashgari to be executed.

ELSEWHERE:

Syria resumes crackdown in Homs, as UN protests "onslaught"

Protesters clash with police in Bahrain

Sudan & South Sudan start key oil talks

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.