Farmworkers say green policies and taxes are eating into their profits and are demanding more government subsidies.
Farmer protests emerged in Romania, Germany and France ahead of the European Union elections in June.
While their demands generally vary, they claim that they are the ones most affected by environmental reforms and that they need more government support to compensate.
Romania
In Romania, farmers and truck drivers have been blocking main roads with their tractors and trucks for a week and a half.
They are demanding lower taxes and fairer subsidies, but so far talks with the government have failed, and they continue to protest. They are also angry about the increasing cost of insurance for heavy machinery.
Germany
In Berlin on Saturday, farmers joined alongside environmental activists.
Farmers say they fully support environmentally friendly, non-GMO agriculture, but to achieve this, they need subsidies or, at least, fair prices for their produce.
But they say the government has hesitated to implement such measures despite handing over their demands to Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir.
Farmers have been taking to the streets since December, when the federal government approved a budget that would eliminate decades-long agricultural subsidies and benefits. This could have saved farmers more than 480 million euros. Later, Berlin decided to ease the plans, by making the benefit cuts gradual.
France
In southern France, massive protests over the past few days have forced the government to address farmers’ issues. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will meet on Monday with the president of the National Federation of Agricultural Operators’ Unions, or FNSEA.
Earlier, farmers pledged to close some highways until their demands were heard. The FNSEA said it would decide next week whether to call for state-level action.
Farmers say that the authorities’ environmental transformation policies make national producers unable to compete. Not only does it make farms unprofitable, it forces France to buy food products from countries it claims have weaker environmental standards.
