European leaders meeting in Brussels were met with protests against austerity as they try to work out a way to tackle the debt crisis crippling the Eurozone. Some of the protestors were arrested by police.

Thousands of protestors in Brussels were also demanding that EU leaders bring austerity measures to a close and focus on boosting growth and reducing unemployment.

The protests were led by the European Trade Union Association, and the direct action groups For A European Spring and Bloccupy.

Around 1,500 protesters rallied at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, according to police on the scene. Although more were seen gathering close to the European Council Summit at the Place Shuman. There have reportedly been 25 arrests by police.

The police banned protesters from marching past the banks and the seats of government in Brussels, to the dismay of many of the protesters. 

“We want to be marching past the seats of government, past the people who actually have a say in what is going on, I think it’s an outrage,” Pascoe Sabido told New Europe Online. 

100 of the protesters occupied the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels (DG ECFIN), and the headquarters of European Commissioner Oli Rehn, to make a stand against his role in austerity.

The DG ECFIN provides most of the staff whose job it is to go to indebted European countries to impose austerity measures regardless of public opinion.

FULL STORY + VIDEO: http://rt.com/news/brussels-clashes-anti-austerity-269/