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Greeks agonise over prospect of more austerity measures

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With a debt crisis now in its fifth year, Greece has become used to painful, drawn-out negotiations with international lenders. But to man...

With a debt crisis now in its fifth year, Greece has become used to painful, drawn-out negotiations with international lenders. But to many Greeks already hit hard by half a decade of austerity, the latest tax hikes and pension cuts demanded by creditors have a particularly bitter taste. “The average Greek family has lost over 40 percent of its income during the crisis, and some families even more,” said Napoleon Maravegias, Professor at the School of Economics and Political Sciences of the University of Athens. “Therefore you realise that no Greek government or political party can convince the people that more austerity measures like these are a solution to their problems,” he told euronews. Creditors are asking Greece to increase value-added tax (VAT) rates on a number of goods and services including electricity, which would see VAT rise from 13 percent to 23 percent – at a time when some struggling Greek families are already unable to pay their bills, and living in the dark. In Athens, one man complained: “A 23 percent VAT on electricity would create a domino effect of price increases for many other goods. In these difficult times such policies are completely inappropriate.” Greece’s pension system has for its part been crumbling under the crisis and it’s among the most expensive in Europe. But more pension cuts would be unacceptable to many. “I have suffered too many cutbacks in my pension already. Enough is enough, there’s nothing left to be taken from us,” said one woman. Recent government figures show nearly 60 percent of retired Greeks live with pensions of 700 euros a month or less, while 45 percent of pensioners hover around the poverty line and depend on charity to survive. Our reporter in Athens Stamatis Giannisis said: “Claiming that Greece is facing a humanitarian crisis, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his radical left Syriza party are refusing to give in to creditors demands, saying additional austerity measures would do nothing more than deal another blow to the country’s flailing economy.” Less

Workers walk out in Greece in protest over austerity measures before parliament

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Strikers at rush hour in Greece. That was how many decided to hold their own vote on the austerity measures before parliament. The metro shu...

Greek 24-hour general strike as protesters demonstrate against austerity measures

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Workers in Greece have responded to austerity measures and taken to the streets of Athens. Three separate rallies led to the centre of the c...

Belgium: Tens of thousands protest planned austerity measures in Brussels

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Around 20,000 health and welfare sector workers marched through Brussels, Thursday, in protest against planned austerity measures, while dem...

Greece: Drone footage shows thousands in anti-austerity protest on Syntagma Square

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A drone's eye captured thousands upon thousands swarming Syntagma Square in Athens, Monday, to protest against further austerity measures an...

Belgium: Brussels hit by 100,000-strong anti-austerity demo

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An estimated 100,000 anti-austerity protesters gathered outside Brussels Nord train station, Wednesday, decrying measures and welfare cutbac...

Canada: Montreal students get militant against austerity

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M/S Running clashes M/S Police detain man M/S Police detain people M/S Man being detained W/S Explosion W/S Marching protesters W/S Protest ...

Belgium: Watch riotous scenes in Brussels anti-austerity protest

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Video ID: 20141106-030 Protesters set cars on fire and threw stones at police as tens of thousands protested the economic and social refor...

Belgium: Docks paralysed and transport hit in anti-austerity strike

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One of Europe’s biggest ports has been paralysed in a one day strike against austerity measures in Belgium, that has brought disruption to...

Greek pensioners protest austerity cuts

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Hundreds of Greek pensioners have gathered in the capital to protest against austerity measures. Their message for the government: “We w...

Greece warned against reversing austerity as it rejects bailout administrators

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Greece says it will no longer cooperate with its bailout lenders – the so-called troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European C...

Greek PM Tspiras warns EU “austerity is not a rule”

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Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has renewed his determination to do away with austerity measures and accused the ECB of blackmail. ...

Greece: Peaceful anti-austerity rally in Athens attracts thousands

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A pro-government, anti-austerity rally outside the Greek parliament in Athens has attracted between 3,000 and 5,000 people, estimates sugges...

Greek parliament votes on second set of bailout measures

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and bankers arrived for a meeting on Wednesday (July 22) as the country’s parliament prepared to vote ...

Portugal’s Socialist leader Costa promises alternative to austerity

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Antonio Costa is more popular than the Socialist party that he leads. He goes into these elections enjoying the appreciation of Lisbon resid...

Antonio Costa is more popular than the Socialist party that he leads. He goes into these elections enjoying the appreciation of Lisbon residents; he was their mayor from 2007 till spring this year. He mixes well with people of all walks of life. The former lawyer has been politically active since he was 14. While he proposes pulling back from austerity, he stresses that Portugal’s Socialists are not like Greece’s Syriza party, even though he openly welcomed the recent reconfirmation in power of the radical left coalition in Athens. The 54-year-old, descended from a family of intellectuals in the former Portuguese colony of Goa said: “What I feel all over the country, what I hear every day in the street is what every one of you also hears every day: there’s a huge desire for change on 4th October. There’s going to be a serious change in Portugal.” A main slogan for the Socialist campaign is: “There is another way.” The former Lisbon Mayor proposes boosting incomes, hiring and growth while scrapping austerity measures and cutting taxes, insisting that would still allow deficits to reduce in line with European rules. A former euro-MP and one of the 14 Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, Costa is pro-Europe. He stepped down as an MEP in 2005 to become Minister of State and Internal Administration in the government of Jose Socrates. The Socialist Party chose Costa as its prime ministerial candidate in these elections last September. He won nearly 70 percent of the votes in a party ballot, defeating leader Antonio Jose Seguro, who then resigned. Costa had the support of the former prime minister but even that did not seem to detract from his eligibility, even though Socrates was detained as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption, money laundering and tax fraud. Socrates was sent to prison. Costa did not lose his cool in a television debate with his opponent in these elections, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, who fired off: “Your demagoguery clashes with reality.” Costa accused Coelho: “You wanted the Troika in Portugal! [referring to the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund who bailed Portugal out in 2011] I have a statement where you say with satisfaction the Troika is here at our request.” Actually, it was the previous Socialist government that asked for help. Costa would consider a coalition with the right or far left, he told one interviewer, only if there was an invasion from outer space. Less

Belgium: Clashes at anti-austerity protest

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Violence erupts as Belgian unions march against government austerity measures. Ten of thousands of people marched in Brussels against auster...

Greece faces more austerity

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Greece passes more austerity measures Syriza MP quits over reforms Hundreds protest outside parliament Greece’s parliament has approv...

Madrid protests austerity despite minimum wage increase

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Protests in Madrid against austerity measures in Spain highlighted the public’s anger at their government’s attempts to balance the book...

Brazil: Police fire rubber bullets in clashes with anti-austerity protesters

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Police fired rubber bullets and threw gas bombs to disperse a crowd of around 300 protesters, predominantly civil servants, outside Rio de J...

Anti-austerity, anti-Macron Law: Thousands protest on streets of France

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Anti-austerity marches have drawn tens of thousands to the streets of France. In addition to grievances about public spending cuts under t...

Anti-austerity marches have drawn tens of thousands to the streets of France. In addition to grievances about public spending cuts under the current Socialist government, the crowds were also protesting against the so-called Macron Law (la loi Macron), currently being debated in the Senate. Named after France’s economy minister, the proposed bill covers a range of measures including loosening Sunday trading and deregulating certain professions. Teacher Nicolas Mas marched in the capital Paris. “All the established social rights of our labour laws are being questioned with this bill. We’ve gone back to the 19th century. It’s incredible,” he said, on the subject of the Macron Law. Images from today’s anti-austerity demonstrations in Paris http://t.co/Q1wmK5w0ns #stopausterite Photo: LucieAbrg pic.twitter.com/kWZY82DJUs— Seen (seenco) April 9, 2015 Demonstrators nationwide also demanded equal pay for women and men and defended the state-supported healthcare system. Frank Pascaud attended the Paris march on behalf of the Association of the Paralysed People of France. He said: “The state is giving less and less money to the hospitals and to health care. And now is the time to act.” The biggest of the 70 trade-union-led protests took place in Paris, with 32,000 people in attendance, according to police. Organisers put the figure much higher, some estimating attendance of around 120,000 people. Les syndicats se mobilisent contre l’austérité en France http://t.co/4mwAlV9enP pic.twitter.com/wsyEtEHgtE— Michel Bugeia (@MichelBOfficiel) April 9, 2015 One of France’s most iconic landmarks was temporarily closed down as a result of the march. “The Eiffel Tower will be closed until 6pm and will re-open this evening,” announced union representative Stephane Dieu. “Ninety percent of the staff… voted to go on strike to denounce the government’s austerity policies.” Marches in Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and other French towns also attracted thousands. Paris 300 000 manifestants contre l’austérité en France, 120 000 rien qu‘à Paris… Ce n’est qu’un début ! pic.twitter.com/wE2CbglSx9— Elias Duparc (@EliasDup) April 9, 2015 Bayonne, Basque Country Parmi les manifestants qui défilent ce jeudi matin à #Bayonne : France Bleu http://t.co/6XU2dHBy5r pic.twitter.com/u72ZpIKF3O— SO_Paysbasque (@SO_Paysbasque) April 9, 2015 Western France Manifestations. Plusieurs défilés contre l’austérité dans l’ouest: http://t.co/QykG5e0II1 pic.twitter.com/R3NXucH9JH— Ouest-France (@OuestFrance) April 9, 2015 Rennes, Brittany Manifestations. 2 500 personnes à Rennes contre l’austérité via ouestfrance http://t.co/QQSFaktYB0 pic.twitter.com/XPIgwqRv1n— EON Hervé (EONHERVE) April 9, 2015 Less

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