ATHENS, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Mass protest against Greek budget spending cuts, that ensure continued funding from the international lenders, ended peacefully in Athens on Sunday evening, police said.
Thousands of Greeks gathered near the Greek parliament ahead of the crucial vote for the 2013 budget, that envisages budget savings of more than 9 billion euros.
Police estimated the crowd outside parliament at 13,000, mostly members of the country’s largest trade unions and the leftist Syriza party, Greece’s major opposition force. A separate rally was held by the Communist party.
The highly unpopular draft budget is another crucial step for securing a new 31.5-billion-euro bailout tranche from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. The vote is expected at around 22:00 GMT.
As debates on the new budget continue in the Greek parliament, the square in front of the building is almost empty, with only several dozens of protestors there.
Traffic resumed in the city center. Three central subway stations, closed for several hours during the protest, have been reopened.
On November 8 the Greek parliament passed early a highly unpopular austerity bill that envisions 13.5 billion euros in spending cuts as well as tax hikes and labor reforms by 2016.
