Greek Farmers Continue Nationwide Protests Opposing Tax Hikes

ATHENS (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the farmers entered Thessaloniki and started a rally near the historic White Tower in the center of the city. The protesters have also blocked the Patras-Corinth and Antirrio-Ioannina roads.

On January 23, the farmers' protests started in the country and had continued on a daily basis since then. During the protests, farmers block the country's major transport routes with their tractors.

A week later, Greek farmers staged demonstrations across the country by blocking roads with their tractors, protesting against tax increases.

​The protests are taking place amid Greece struggling with its dire financial situation. Greece's international creditors signed an agreement with Athens in mid-2015, approving a third bailout package worth about $98 billion in exchange for austerity reforms such as pension cuts and tax hikes.

Numerous groups of people, including students, farmers and pensioners, have been protesting across Greece against governmental austerity measures for years. Athens began implementing unpopular tax and pension reforms in 2010 after its international creditors approved the bailout package to support the economy of the Mediterranean nation, which is overburdened by multimillion debts. The loans, from the European Commission, ECB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), however, only resulted in increasing the country’s debt.