Greece still to convince skeptical euro zone

Euro zone finance ministers meet on Wednesday.

The fragile ruling coalition of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has until then to say how 325 million euros of the 3.3 billion euros in budget savings will be achieved.

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Brussels also wants written commitments from party leaders that they will implement the terms of the deal even after an election penciled in for April.

But a recession, now in its fifth year, and two years of painful spending cuts have shaken the political establishment to its core.

Voters could be driven further to the left and right, straining EU confidence in whether Greece will hold the course.

First reaction from euro zone paymaster Germany was cautious.

"Now we need to wait and see what comes after the legislation," Economy Minister and deputy Prime Minister Philipp Roesler said on German television.

"We have taken one step in the right direction but we are still far from the goal," he said.

Critics on Monday said more austerity would only condemn the economy to an ever-deepening downward spiral.

"Yesterday's vote in the parliament may have saved the country temporarily from default, but the Greek economy is going bankrupt and the country's political system is failing," the head of the Greek Commerce Confederation, Vassilis Korkidis, said in a statement.

Papademos had warned of a "social explosion" if lawmakers rejected the deal and Greece defaulted next month. They passed it after 10 hours of fiery debate.