Farmers continue to protest in several European countries

The mobilization of European farmers continued today, Saturday, to demand improvement of their income, but in a varying manner between countries, with demonstrations taking place in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, where protesters announced their march to the capital, Rome.
On the other hand, the movement lost momentum in Romania and France, with farmers in both countries halting protests.
In Italy, farmers demonstrated and drove about 150 tractors in Orte, located near Rome, and announced their imminent arrival in the Italian capital, according to a press correspondent.

Angry farmers marched in a procession near a major highway, demanding improvements in their working conditions and income.
Demonstrator Felice Antonio Monfili said, “We will all go to Rome, from all of Italy,” without specifying the date.
Demonstrator Domenico Cergi said, “Through this protest, we are waiting for the government to give us direct answers.”
Italian farmers have been demanding to meet the government of conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for days, but have not yet received a response.
In Germany, hundreds of farmers opposed to the plan to reduce subsidies for diesel fuel blocked access to Frankfurt Airport, the largest in the country, with their tractors until the beginning of Saturday afternoon, according to what the city police announced.

At around midday, the police estimated the number of tractors participating in the demonstration at about 400, while the Hessen State Farmers Association counted up to a thousand tractors.
– The first demonstration in Switzerland
Switzerland witnessed the first farmer protest demonstration today, Saturday, and a procession of about thirty tractors toured the streets of Geneva to express the demands of Swiss farmers.
“This is the first gathering of farmers in Switzerland after the demonstrations and closures taking place throughout Europe,” said Elaine Mueller, Secretary General of the Unitar union, which organized the demonstration.

She added in a press statement, “In Switzerland, many say that the situation is different and that we are not subject to the policies of the European Union, but despite that, we are still in the same framework.”
In Spain, the three main agricultural unions announced yesterday, Friday, their continued mobilization following a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture. A series of demonstrations are scheduled to be held in the coming weeks in the country, one of which will be in Barcelona on February 13.

Farmer unions condemned the “growing frustration and anxiety” in the agricultural sector in Spain, the leading European country in exporting fruits and vegetables.
In the Netherlands, farmers carried out protest movements on highways on Friday evening and briefly closed a highway north of Amsterdam, according to the Dutch News Agency.
Other farmers left a site where they had blocked the road at the border with Belgium on Saturday morning, but the Belgian tractors were still at the site and it was not possible to completely reopen the road to traffic, according to the Belgian News Agency.
Most closures were lifted on Friday in Belgium, including in the port of Zeebrugge, but many distribution centers of major supermarket chains remained closed on Saturday, according to the Belgian agency.
The French farmers, who began the widespread protest movement, had lifted most of the roadblocks yesterday, Friday, the day after the French government announced the provision of aid worth 400 million euros and the “temporary suspension” of the plan to reduce the use of pesticides.
– “fed up”
In Romania, farmers and road transport workers, among the first in Europe to say “enough is enough” and begin blocking roads, began to end their protests today, Saturday, after announcing an agreement with their government.

One of their representatives, Danut Andros, said the demonstrators were “satisfied” with having a seat at the negotiating table.
In an attempt to quell the anger that is growing on the continent, the European Commission promised Thursday to take measures to defend the “legitimate interests” of EU farmers, in particular by reducing the “administrative burden” imposed by the Common Agricultural Policy.
European farmers are making unified demands in all countries: amending EU agricultural policy, improving incomes, combating inflation, protecting against foreign competition, raising strict standards on production, and not removing subsidies on the prices of fuel used in agriculture.