Greek farmers open some roads

Dozens of tractors are pictured blocking the road to the Promahonas border crossing to Bulgaria in northern Greece, January 28, 2009.

PROMACHONAS, Greece (Reuters) - Greek farmers protesting against a slump in commodity prices lifted most of their roadblocks on Thursday after accepting a government offer, but kept border crossings to Bulgaria shut for an eleventh day.

The blockades, which have caused travel chaos across Greece and angered Bulgaria, have shaken a conservative government struggling to cope with the economic slump and recover from the worst riots in decades last month.

December's unrest reverberated across Europe, where many people are angry at their governments' handling of the global crisis. Protests have erupted in Baltic states and Iceland, and in France hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike on Thursday demanding better protection of jobs and wages.

Greece's farmers want higher subsidies and tax rebates to compensate for the slump. The government has offered 500 million euros (453.9 million pounds) on some products such as cotton, olive oil and wheat, but not others including oranges, fruit and rice.

Farmers' unions in southern and central Greece accepted the deal and removed tractor blockades that had closed main roads. But farmers at two border crossings with Bulgaria and the main agricultural town of Larisa in central Greece stayed put.

"We'll continue to sit here until the minister actually puts the money in our accounts," said Tasos Reklos, a grain farmer at the remote Promachonas crossing. "Otherwise we're staying put, because farmers don't even have money to educate their kids."

Vehicles stretched for 8 km (5 miles) on the Bulgarian side and for 3 km into Greece and truck drivers complained it took two to three days to pass the blockades, which farmers open only intermittently.

CRETANS DEMAND MORE

On the island of Crete, farmers kept their roadblocks and demanded a further 100 million euros from the government for the island alone. They threatened to bring their tractors to Athens unless their demand was met.

"Many blockades have been lifted ... but there are still some five or six powerful ones," said Tzanetakos Karamihas, head of the Confederation of Greek Farmers' Unions.

The protests revived speculation the ruling conservative New Democracy party -- which has a one-seat majority -- could become the latest victim of Europeans' anger at the global crisis. Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned on Monday after a wave of protests broke his coalition.

The joint action in France by eight labour unions highlighted fears of growing unemployment and discontent over President Nicolas Sarkozy's reluctance to help consumers.

In Athens, suspected anarchists firebombed four cars overnight, as sporadic violence by leftist groups continues.

Greek ministers say the slump leaves no room for social spending to ease the downturn. Falling tax revenues mean the budget deficit is expected to bust Brussels' 3 percent ceiling for a third year running.

Greek media have questioned whether the 500 million euro package will violate EU rules on state assistance and ridiculed the government's failure to agree the move with Brussels.

"There's no problem with the European Union," Agriculture Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis said. "I've tried to reach the Commissioner. I couldn't get her on the phone."

(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou, Deborah Kyvrikosaios and George Hatzidakis; writing by Daniel Flynn; editing by Andrew Roche)