Greek parliament approves 2026 budget amid protests

ATHENS, Dec ‌17 (Reuters) - Greece's parliament approved the country's 2026 budget amid protests by ‍farmers ‌and public sector workers over delayed subsidies and a cost-of-living crisis.

The budget includes ⁠forecasts that the economy will ‌grow 2.4% next year from a projected 2.2% this year and generate a primary surplus, which excludes debt servicing costs, of 2.8% of gross domestic product. It was ⁠approved late on Tuesday.

Greece has recovered from a decade-long crisis after slashing wages as part of ​an austerity drive in return for three international bailouts ‌between 2009 and 2018. Despite ⁠repeated minimum wage increases in recent years, salaries still lag behind the euro zone average, while food and housing costs have risen.

Earlier on Tuesday, ​hundreds of Greeks rallied in central Athens and doctors and teachers joined public sector workers who walked off the job.

Protesters also expressed solidarity with farmers who have deployed thousands of tractors and trucks in dozens of blockades ​for ‍a third week, disrupting ​traffic along major motorways and border crossings to protest at delays in European Union aid and other payments prompted by probes into a corruption scandal.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the distribution of about 160 million euros in aid to farmers and breeders, on top of about 500 million euros already released ⁠recently.

He added that his centre-right government would offer 400 million euros in new subsidies to help renovate homes ​which are currently off the market, a move aimed at covering a shortfall in long-term rentals that has spiked housing costs.

The budget includes tax breaks announced in September which will help boost workers' ‌wages and aid aimed at supporting vulnerable households and pensioners worth 1.7 billion euros ($1.87 billion) in total.

($1 = 0.8543 euros)

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Alex Richardson)