Although Greek lawmakers have passed a crucial series of austerity measures, the bailout funds they are meant to trigger still face a daunting series of political hurdles.
The day after the Greek Parliament passed the bill, the European Union's Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn praised the move as a "crucial step forward."
The approval did come in time for consideration at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers scheduled for Wednesday, but a spokesperson for Germany's finance ministry, which stands to contribute the largest portion of the proposed $171 billion USD bailout, says their final approval for the deal won't come before early March.
That means anxious Greeks will have to wait weeks before they know whether the country will avert a default and the feared ripple effects it is expected to have on the other eurozone economies.
The international reaction comes as Athens cleans up from a day of pitched rioting during which at least 45 buildings were burned and dozens of other businesses were looted.
The Athens stock index was up on Monday morning however, indicating investors' approval of the bill passing in a 199-74 vote.
But the violent reaction of protesters made the country's angry disapproval of impending government spending cuts resoundingly clear.
By the time the dust settled on the streets of Athens Sunday, police said more than 120 people had been hurt in the riots, at least 74 protesters were arrested, another 92 were detained and at least 70 were also hospitalized.
Reacting to the vote in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesperson Steffen Seibert nevertheless expressed cautious optimism.
"These decisions show the will and readiness of the Greeks to make great efforts of their own ... to put the country on the right track," he said.
"These measures, and we really have to note this, are not just saving for the sake of saving, they are not cutting for the sake of cutting -- this is about reforms in every political area. These are measures that are meant to restore step by step the financial room for manoeuvre that the country needs for new jobs and new growth to emerge."
Both the latest bailout deal and the proposed bond swap aimed at wiping out half of Greece's private debt, hinge on Greece implementing a series of spending cutbacks that include slashing the minimum wage and eliminating one in five public sector jobs.
Originally intended to be considered at the same time as the bailout deal, the bond swap offer will still have to go ahead this week if it's to be completed ahead of a critical March 20 deadline.
Despite feeling the sting of deep spending cuts for two years, Greeks are still seeing their economy fail to meet its debt and deficit reduction targets. Now in its fifth year of recession, the country is struggling with a 20 per cent unemployment rate.
