Tractors are parked outside Thessaloniki’s International Fair during a Greek farmers’ protest against higher energy costs, lower state subsidies as well as demanding compensations from the recent floods, in Thessaloniki, Greece, February 3, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis/file photo
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek farmers plan to hold a rally in Athens early next week, stepping up action after weeks of protests over rising energy costs and competition from abroad, their unions said on Thursday.
Sharing many of the same grievances as farmers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy, Greek farmers have gathered with their tractors across the country in recent weeks, briefly blocking roads and border crossings for freight trucks.
The government proposed further support on Tuesday for the sector, including cheaper electricity for two years, on top of a one-year extension of a tax rebate for agricultural diesel announced last week. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that Greece does also have fiscal constraints.
But farmers said the measures were not enough and their unions met in the central city of Larissa on Thursday to decide their next moves.
"We've decided to organise a big rally with our tractors and cars in Athens on Tuesday," Rizos Maroudas, head of the farmers union in Larissa, told reporters after the meeting.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Frances Kerry)
