Greek parliament passes government's 2010 budget

The Greek parliament has passed the government's 2010 budget, which aims to cut the public deficit to single digits. But the main opposition has slammed the budget, warning it could plunge Greece further into debt.

The budget was approved on a strict party-line vote by 160 ruling party lawmakers in the 300-strong parliament. The plan targets a fiscal gap of 9 percent of GDP in 2010, down from this year's 12.7 percent.

Greece has suffered downgrades by three major ratings agencies this month.

The financial crisis has been blamed largely on the previous government's corruption, tax evasion and wasteful spending.

One of the sticking points of Thursday's budget was wage cuts - something the opposition favored, but the government left out.

George Papandreou, Greek Prime Minister, said, "It's not enough to just solve the symptoms of our problems with quick painkillers. It's not enough to just pretend to please foreign agencies and creditors that rate us with temporary policies."

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou delivers a speech during a parliament session in Athens December 23, 2009.REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis