The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts.
The proposed tax hikes and spending cuts have been deeply unpopular with the Greek public.
A nationwide 48-hour strike is under way and violent clashes are continuing in the streets of the capital, Athens.
Greece is heavily in debt and the package is needed to win the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan.
MPs passed the measures by 155 votes to 138.
They will hold a second vote on Thursday aimed at changing a law allowing the package to be implemented.
'No time to step back'
Ahead of the vote, PM George Papandreou urged MPs to approve the package by consensus.
He had faced wavering support from within his governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament. But in the end, only one Pasok deputy voted against the package.
Mr Papandreou says his austerity plan is the only way to get Greece back on its feet.
"We must avoid the country's collapse at all costs. Now is not the time to step back," he told deputies.
Were his 28bn-euro austerity package to be rejected, Greece could run out of money within weeks, as the EU and the International Monetary Fund want the measures implemented before they release more funds to help Greece pay off its vast debts.
But tensions are running high in Greece, where unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts that have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13960947
Note: Update Record, 29 June 2011 Last updated at 13:40 GMT