Anarchists and anti-establishment groups looking for a ?cheap and easy? way to protest will have their big chance during the Athens Olympics this August, a Greek newspaper said yesterday quoting European security experts. According to the Ethnos daily, heads of the anti-terrorist units of seven European Union countries came to that conclusion when they met in the Hague last week to exchange information on extremist groups.

?The danger is greater because the core (of anarchists and anti-establishment groups) is active in Italy but has strong connections to groups in Greece and Spain,? the newspaper quoted the officials as saying. The groups likely to make a move during the August 13 to 29 Games could be similar or linked to the group that recently sent crudely-made letter and parcel bombs to European Union figures including European Commission President Romano Prodi, the paper added.

Investigators in the Italian city of Bologna, where that group is thought to be based, have said that those behind the bombs are likely members of loosely-linked anarchist movements, but could be building ties with more experienced Greek and Spanish anarchists.