Greek Farmers Stand Ready to Seal Off All Major Roads

Protesting Greek farmers have said they may step up pressure on the government by staging roadblocks on all thoroughfares leading to Thessaloniki in the country's north.

Their declarations come after traffic via the Kulata-Promachonas border crossing, between Greece and Bulgaria, was left paralyzed for a short time on Tuesday.

The plans announced by local media in Greece and quoted by the BNR's Greece-based correspondent give no clue whether a new blockade is planned near the border with Bulgaria.

Kulata border crossing now remains especially sensitive to any potential blockade after the border with Macedonia, the Evzoni-Bogorodica crossing, was closed by a blockade of tractors on Monday, with dozens of trucks and cars having been redirected since then to the crossing with Bulgaria.

Police presence is now stepped in in the area.

For days, farmers have been showing their discontent with the Greek cabinet's austerity program, sealing off key roads and junctions across their country for several hours every day.

Higher taxes on income, land and fuel, as demanded by Greece's international lenders, are among the issues angering protesters.