Farmers and livestock breeders from across Greece were heading into Athens on Tuesday for a protest rally at 12 noon outside the Rural Development and Food Ministry, demanding delayed payouts from the agricultural subsidy agency OPEKEPE and support for flocks hit by a sheep and goat pox outbreak.
The EU executive announced on Thursday (2 May) a six-month extension of the extraordinary framework allowing member states to grant support to farms and fishermen, set to expire in June, due to “persisting” market disruptions.
A group of EU countries is calling to relax rules on mandatory practices to protect peatlands and wetlands under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a measure that is currently being considered by the European Commission.
The costs linked to the EU’s green transition should be shared collectively to avoid burdening specific sectors, according to a report by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, citing farmers as a group showing resistance to reforms.
As the Commission prepares to unveil a package to cut red tape for farmers on Friday (15 March), EU leaders meeting at the European Council next week will urge the EU executive and agriculture ministers to act “without delay” on multiple fronts, such as trade and food chain, according to draft conclusions seen by Euractiv.
Twenty-two European countries wrote to the Commission calling for immediate initiatives to respond to the agricultural crisis, with the bloc’s executive confirming its intention to table measures next week.
Members of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee sent a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on Tuesday (20 February), seen by Euractiv, setting out six demands to ease farmers’ discontent.
Tensions are rising over the renewal of the EU’s trade liberalisation with Ukraine, with the European Commission meeting with neighbouring countries on Tuesday (20 February) and a joint protest in Eastern Europe set to take place on Thursday.
Representatives of disgruntled farmers have decided to drive their tractors into Athens on Tuesday after the government failed to meet their demands, particularly the request for tax-free diesel fuel, according to reports.
Farmers took to the streets in Nicosia. Farmers took to the streets today and converged in Nicosia with their tractors and trucks. They rallied their tractors on the grounds of the national stadium and after stopping to protest outside the Presidential Palace, they headed towards the “House of Europe” where a delegation from the farmers’ […]
