Tsipras to give Greek EU presidency ceremony a miss [Update]
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the main opposition leftist party SYRIZA will not attend the official ceremony as Greece assumes the six-month presidency of the European Union on Wednesday.
According to party sources, Tsipras’s absence from the Athens Concert Hall ceremony symbolizes the party’s disagreement with the coalition government’s priorities during the Greek presidency.
Meanwhile, security was expected to be high throughout Wednesday with heavy police presence and traffic restrictions across much of the city center. The police imposed an 18-hour ban on protests in central Athens, starting at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
