Greece accepts harsh bailout terms, vows swift vote

ATHENS, Greece – Greece agreed to harsh terms for a new three-year bailout Tuesday and vowed to push it through parliament this week, despite mounting dissent in the ruling left-wing party.

With the country facing the risk of a debt default next week, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had sought to speed up the talks and get approval of a deal this week.

After Greece and its creditors reached an accord on the main points on Tuesday, Tsipras called for an emergency session of parliament for a vote late Thursday.

Greece needs to start tapping the new bailout – worth $93 billion – so that it can make a key debt repayment next week and secure its future in the euro.

The draft agreement forces Tsipras to accept what he had vowed to resist only months ago: the sale of some state property; deep cuts to pensions and military spending; and ending tax credits to people considered vulnerable.

Officials in Athens and the European Union said a few issues were left to be ironed out Tuesday.

“We are very close. Two or three very small details remain,” Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said as he emerged Tuesday morning from all-night discussions with creditors.

The European Commission, a key negotiator in the talks, confirmed the progress. Annika Breidthardt, the commission’s spokeswoman for economic affairs, said the details were expected to be cleared up later in the day.

Dissenters in Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party, who want to end bailout talks and return to a national currency, promised to fight the deal, describing it as a “noose around the neck of the Greek people.”

Tsipras requested an end to the summer recess to allow for the two-day approval procedure and to get a vote before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Friday.

The agreement still requires approval from higher-level representatives, and senior finance officials from the 28 EU nations were holding a conference call Tuesday.