Greek farmers protest rising costs

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Protests by Greek farmers intensified on Tuesday as they marched in thousands in the capital.

More than 200 tractors arrived at Syntagma Square in front of the parliament in Athens on Tuesday afternoon.

The farmers demanded the government accept a series of requests that they presented to the premier in a meeting last week.

Around 60 buses with farmers from across Greece arrived in Athens. More than 200 protesters arrived by boat from Crete Island.

“We have nothing more to offer," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Star channel on Monday.

Mitsotakis stressed that the government has already exceeded the farmers' expectations and the tight fiscal room permitted no more measures.

The Greek premier has already offered cuts on electricity bills and a one-year extension of a tax rebate for agricultural diesel to the end of 2024.

The protests came amid massive farmers’ mobilizations in France, Belgium, and other EU countries, with many of the complaints directed at EU regulations.