Mass protests by farmers are currently taking place across eight EU countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Portugal). Only after two weeks, politicians began to pay attention to the demands of the protesters due to tractors blocking highways and manure in the streets.
Farmers have decided on mass protests for a reason. They are all dissatisfied with the new decisions made by their government. In Germany, the main reason for the protests was the abolition of subsidies for agricultural diesel fuel. Also benefits for non-payment of tax on agricultural machinery were canceled. Protests began on January 15 and are still going on.
In France, the reasons were higher taxes, higher prices and massive imports of agro-products. On January 18, farmers began to block Paris and the entrance to it, pelted the city with manure. In the Netherlands a whole police station was pelted with manure.
On February 1, Belgium hosted a summit of EU leaders regarding financial aid to Ukraine. Farmers threw eggs at the building of the European Parliament, the traffic around was blocked by tractors and other agricultural equipment.
In Poland, more than 200 tractors blocked roads because of the uncontrolled flow of goods from Ukraine. High fuel and electricity prices are also reasons for the outrage.
Farmers from all protesting countries have one goal – to improve their lives and working conditions so that their work pays off. The government is now holding talks with representatives of the protesters, but does not want to cancel its decisions yet. Farmers said they will not stop protesting until the government takes appropriate measures and listens to them.
