Greek farmers demanding additional aid will be allowed to bring their tractors into Athens after using them to blockade some roads in trying to pressure the New Democracy government for concessions.
Thousands of farmers are planning to descend on the capital on Feb. 20 after a representative group met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose government had offered more assistance, but they weren’t fully satisfied.
The farmers want lower fuel and agricultural material costs, reduced electricity expenses, and a renegotiation of the EU’s new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to help make up for losses suffered in the 2023 summer fires and floods.
That wiped out a big section of Greece’s agricultural heartland of Thessaly and other regions, the losses adding to the soaring price of foods and some shortages and leaving some lands unable to be used for some time.
Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis first barred the tractors from being taken into Athens and said the farmers should drive in with private vehicles or on buses to hold their demonstrations but relented to prevent any more tension.
Surveys show that 70 percent of respondents are on the side of the farmers and Mitsotakis has been trying to strike a balance between helping them further but said there are budget constraints and money needed for other social issues.
TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS
Greek police announced on Monday the traffic restrictions to be implemented when farmers arrive by tractors and buses in Athens on Tuesday, to demand more measures for the high cost of production, ANA reports.
Specifically, tractors will be accompanied by patrol cars from Kastro (Viotia prefecture) and Megara (Attica Region) as they travel to Athens. Buses with farmers from various parts of Greece will park at the Olympic Stadium.
The following will be affected in central Athens:
– A temporary traffic stop will be implemented along the route of Athinon Avenue, Achilleos, and Karaiskaki, for tractors. They will travel to Syntagma Square following the reverse traffic direction, along Agiou Konstantinou Avenue, Omonia Square, and Panepistimiou Avenue. A short ban on traffic will be implemented around Omonia Square.
– On Vassilissis Sofias, traffic will be banned from the parliament building, and the incoming traffic will be diverted at Sekeri Street.
– Cars using Akadimias Street will be using only the outbound lane of Vassilissis Sofias.
– Bus and trolley schedules will be modified along all the affected routes.
Further queries or information are available at the police, while updates will be posted on a banner on the police web page and on its social media account.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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