Tens of thousands of people have marched through Brussels and other cities in a day of protests across Europe against government austerity, which unions say will slow economic recovery and punish the poor.

Marchers in Brussels, heading for the EU's headquarters, waved union flags and carried banners saying "No to austerity" and "Priority to jobs and growth". They represented 50 unions and included German coal miners, Romanian gas workers and Polish shipbuilders.

European governments say they have been forced into austerity to avert the danger of a sovereign debt crisis like the one suffered by Greece, but many workers feel they are being punished for problems that were not of their own making.

Trade unions said they had called rallies in 13 capitals from Lisbon to Helsinki, while Spain held a general strike to oppose measures such as spending cuts and pension and labour market reforms to stave off economic crisis.

Economic growth has revived in the European Union, home to 500 million people and the executive European Commission expects the bloc's economy to grow 1.8 percent this year after a 4.2 percent contraction in 2009.