Greek parliament to vote tonight on ratification of the Prespa Agreement

The Greek parliament finished the first part of the debate on ratification of the Prespa Agreement in the early hours of Thursday and is set to continue this morning. The vote in Athens will take place in the evening or during the night.

Greek media report that opposition party New Democracy will not file a non-confidence vote motion and the process will go through as scheduled.

Meanwhile, police are bracing for more violence at a rally in Athens on Thursday against the Prespa Agreement in the wake of serious clashes at a similar demonstration last Sunday, as far-right extremists have been making public appeals for a dynamic turnout.

“We call all Greeks on Thursday to a relentless and unceasing battle,” one far-right website said in a post yesterday. It also referred to the leftist-led administration as a “giant with glass legs,” suggesting that “one crack is enough” to bring it down.

At Greek Police (ELAS) headquarters on Wednesday, authorities were planning much tighter measures for this evening’s rally, similar to the security plan that was implemented for the 2010-12 anti-austerity protests.