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Upd+video:Tax & Customs Officers Occupy Finance Ministry Ahead Venizelos’ Press Conference

Tax and customs officers on strike occupied the boardroom of the Finance Ministry in Athens just before Greek Finance Minister and deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos started his press conference. The union of striking officers protested the impending cuts in their wages and benefits due to the new pay-roll for the civil servants. However the protesters left the room at 12 o’clock and the press conference was not postponed.

There is a strong riot police force outside the Finance Ministry.

Video: protesters/riot police clash outside the ministry

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Later protesters joined other demonstrators form the public tranport sector and headed towards the Parliament blocking the streets in downtown Athens.

A large number of foreign journalists attend Venizelos’ press conference where he is to brief about his recent  talks with the IMF in Washington.

Greek media had reported that he will also announce new austerity measures, however in his introduction he spoke about the weakness of the public administration and repeated again that Greece will meet its targets. “Primary Surplus in 2012” he said among others. New austerity measures have not been announced so far – and I guess, there won’t be any today 🙂

KTG will most probably report about Venizelos’s statements later, should he say something extraordinary.

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