Protestors march across Europe against implementation of austerity measures

A number of governments across the 27 member states have imposed cuts in wages, pensions and employment, in an attempt to deal with spiraling debts.

On Wednesday, Portugal's minority government announced proposals to cut civil servants' pay and state spending while raising taxes in an attempt to lower the country's debt levels.

Meanwhile, in Greece and the Irish Republic, unemployment figures are at their highest level in 10 years, while Spain's unemployment has doubled in just three years.

British government is planning to cut spending by up to 25% in some areas, while France has witnessed angry protests against a proposed increase in the minimum retirement age.

Head of the French union Force Ouvriere, Jean Claude Mailly, said there is still time to reconsider the austerity measures.

"It is never too late because the austerity measures are in the process of being set up now,” he said. "So we are in a period where social movements of a different nature will have a big value in the weeks and months to come. There is a strong social tension."

In Madrid, there were mass protests outside bus and metro stations, and few buses were running. Many high-speed trains were cancelled and only about a quarter of commuter trains were running.

In the Irish Republic, a man drove a cement mixer covered with anti-bank slogans into the gates of the parliament in Dublin.

The European Trade Union Confederation (Etuc) warns that the financial crisis - which it describes as the worst in Europe since the 1930s - has already made 23 million people across the EU jobless and fears that austerity measures could "result in even more unemployment".

Workers in many EU countries are reportedly frustrated that they are paying for the mistakes of the banks and the financial sector.