Farmers in the Greek region of Central Macedonia intensified their protest actions today, blocking border crossings and road sections again after the end of the Christmas holidays and before the New Year, ANA-MPA reports, BTA reported.
At 12:00 p.m. today, farmers blocked the Evzoni border crossing on the border with North Macedonia in both directions for all vehicles except for emergencies. The blockade will last until 4:00 p.m. today and will be repeated from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day until Tuesday.
At the same time, farmers with their tractors blocked traffic through the Promahon border crossing with Bulgaria for trucks only, while passenger car traffic continues normally. The blockade will also continue until Tuesday. As of 5:00 p.m. yesterday, the Exohi checkpoint has also been closed to trucks.
At 1:00 p.m. today, farmers blocked the Athens-bound lane of the national road connecting the capital with the second largest city, Thessaloniki. The blockade is at the Malgara toll booth and will continue until Tuesday. The road towards Thessaloniki remains open.
The highway between Thessaloniki and Athens remained open in both directions during the Christmas holidays, reminds the newspaper "Kathimerini", adding that the renewal of the blockade comes before a nationwide meeting of farmers, which is expected in the coming days.
In Chalkidoni near Thessaloniki, farmers are blocking the intersection from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
The Niki border crossing on the border with North Macedonia will be closed for one hour this afternoon and in the evening from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
A meeting of protesting farmers was held at the Nikia junction today around noon, at which they decided to continue and intensify their protest actions.
According to the decision of 1:00 PM, the overpass at Nikia, near the city of Larissa, bringing traffic to a standstill. The measure is expected to remain in place until Tuesday afternoon, when traffic will reopen for the New Year holidays.
They stressed that the actions are part of their efforts to put pressure on the government to meet their main demands and make certain commitments.
The protests by Greek farmers began in late November over delays in the payment of agricultural subsidies as a result of a corruption scandal at the Greek agricultural payments agency, OPECEP.