01/04/2014 10:26
Athens bans protests as Greece hosts EU meeting
Greek police have banned protests in central Athens ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in the capital, the BBC reported.
Demonstrators will be barred from areas including Syntagma Square, the focus of recent anti-austerity protests.
EU finance ministers are expected to sign off the next instalment of Greece's bailout when they meet in the city later.
Greece, the current chair of the EU presidency, continues to struggle with high debt and unemployment
Discussions at Tuesday and Wednesday's meetings will include Greece's austerity programme and market reforms demanded under the terms of its international bailouts.
Ministers are expected to unlock about 8bn euros (£6.6bn, $11.bn) in loan money - one of the last Greece will get from the eurozone. The International Monetary Fund will continue to pay its instalments for some months.
It comes after the Greek parliament narrowly passed a raft of reforms, mainly to open up retail sectors to competition.
The meeting comes at a time of renewed confidence in Greece as the country's economy looks to be recovering, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens.