European farmers have common grievances, but governments are competing for concessions

The annual Agrotika trade fair in Greece traditionally gives farmers the opportunity to see the latest equipment and agricultural innovations. This year, the event will serve as a focal point to address their long-standing grievances.

On Friday, tractors lined up around the conference center where the event is being held in the northern city of Thessaloniki, blocking highways and underscoring their determination to intensify protests against rising production costs.

Similar protests have spread across Europe in recent months, as the continent’s farmers took to the streets to voice their frustrations over inflation, foreign competition and the cost of tackling climate change.

World leaders are seeking to calm key sectors of their economies after the turmoil caused by the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, making fiscal concessions in the months leading up to European Union parliamentary elections in June. is in a hurry.

Here we take a look at the status of the protests and the results so far.

brussels angerOn Thursday, farmers took their protests to the heart of the EU, blocking roads in Brussels with hundreds of tractors as black smoke billowed from burning tires, and leaders of the 27 EU countries held a summit. was held.

Reaction to the protests was immediate. The EU Executive Committee has announced plans to protect farmers from cheap products exported from wartime Ukraine and allow farmers to use some of their land that had been required to fallow for environmental reasons. .

The plan still needs approval from member states and the European Parliament, but it amounted to a sudden symbolic concession.

“I would like to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to listen to their concerns. We are currently addressing two very important (concerns) of them. I think so,” said European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcović.

Paris road blockades liftedFarmers set up barricades and other barricades in Paris as it prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics after the government pledged more than 400 million euros ($436 million) in additional financial support. is being removed.

A convoy of tractors is heading home after farmers called off a protest along a main road near the French capital, avoiding possible clashes with heavily deployed police. The emergency relief measures targeted growing complaints from overseas about low profits, strict regulations and unfair competition.

Italy slams EU policiesItaly’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed the EU’s “ideological approach” to agriculture and climate policy for the economic hardships of her country’s farmers.

He said the government was raising huge sums of money to help farmers cope with severe drought conditions in parts of the country, but that the financial support Italy would receive from the EU would make up the bulk of the funding. admitted.

Meloni’s government also expanded state aid for the use of diesel fuel in agriculture this year. Farm groups are seeking long-term tax cuts.

German farmers get partial concessionsGerman farmers began protests in December, including tractor demonstrations and blockades, after government leaders, facing a fiscal crisis, announced they would scrap car and fuel tax exemptions for farming. I did it.

The plan was watered down, with car tax exemptions remaining and tax breaks on diesel fuel used by farmers phased out over three years. Farmers demanded a reversal of these cuts, but lawmakers approved a revised plan on Friday.

Farmers in Poland and Spain demand more reliefPoland has been home to some of the most violent protests in Europe in recent months. Anger has mainly been directed at Brussels over the impact of cheap imports from Ukraine and opposition to EU environmental regulations. A major agricultural organization this week announced plans for a new closure of Polish motorways and border crossings with Ukraine on February 9th.

Spanish farmers are also calling for more generous relief following inconclusive talks between agricultural association leaders and Agriculture Minister Luis Plan on Friday. The association claims a “suffocating” bureaucracy is adding to the misery caused by drought, low prices and unfair competition from non-EU countries. They are planning new protests.

Climate change intensifies protests in Greece Peasant protests in Greece date back several decades and were mainly centered around subsidies. Massive wildfires and floods in 2023, both of which are seen as effects of climate change, have further heightened concerns about rising costs and declining revenues.

The Greek government on Friday rushed out new support measures, including tax rebates, a five-month discount on electricity bills, debt relief and a promise to accelerate funding for flood recovery in central Greece.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told MPs in parliament: “The government shows its interest in the welfare of farmers and livestock farmers in every possible way.”

Agricultural organizations that took part in protests in Thessaloniki on Friday described the measures as a “drop in the ocean” and pledged to tighten highway closures starting this weekend.

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Kantouris reported from Thessaloniki, Greece. Raf Cassart in Brussels, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Gail Moulson in Berlin, Ciaran Giles in Madrid and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this story.