Central Greece farmers step up protests

Farmers from Trikala, central Greece, on Wednesday parked their tractors at the Megalohori junction on the E65 highway, stepping up their protests at the government’s ongoing austerity drive.

In comments to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the head of the union representing farmers from Trikala, Apostolos Thomopoulos, said that protesters would reinforce the road block every day, bringing more and more tractors.

Farmers want lower production costs, tax-free oil, better rates for electricity and water, the abolition of value-added tax on agricultural supplies and vehicles, and thier exemption from property tax (ENFIA).