Summarised by Centrist
With costs over the past year doubling and tripling for inputs such as fertiliser and electricity, stiff competition, and stringent environmental regulations, angry farmers are causing turmoil in Europe.
The discontent, fueled by economic hardships and perceived neglect from policymakers is fuelling continued unrest. German farmers have targeted Green party events, notably causing a manure slick on a Berlin highway, leading to crashes and serious injuries. In Spain, farmers have vandalised Moroccan produce over labour cost disparities. Polish farmers are protesting against competitive pressures from Ukrainian imports. In France, farmers say they can barely “dig a ditch, trim a hedge, or birth a calf,” without government regulation getting in the way.
French farmers, in particular, view the EU’s “Green Deal” and “Farm to Fork Strategy”, to drastically reduce pesticide and fertiliser use by 2030, as an attack on France’s economy.
French author and political commentator, Pascal Bruckner, reflecting on the tensions: “It’s war between the Greens and farmers.”
The head of FNSEA, France’s largest farmer’s union, Arnaud Rousseau, said, “It’s the end of the world versus the end of the month,” in describing the financial challenges faced by farmers’ versus the expectations placed upon them to comply with extremely strict EU environmental policies.
Image: MOs810
