Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday offered to speed up financial aid to farmers in a bid to stave off protests already gripping other EU states.
Mitsotakis told Skai Radio that he had instructed his agriculture minister to “immediately” increase payments, many of them to farmers stricken by devastating floods last year.
Farmers in the central region of Thessaly, the epicentre of last September’s floods, will receive an additional five to 10,000 euros ($5,400-10,800) on top of 2,000 euros already paid, Mitsotakis said.
Hundreds of farmers have mobilised around the country in recent days, and plan to gather in force at a February 1 agricultural fair in Thessaloniki.
Their demands include lower taxes, cheaper electricity and fuel and stronger import controls.
A growing movement of farmer discontent is spreading in Europe, with disruptions in France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands, as the EU scrambles to address concerns ahead of European parliament elections this year.
Source: AFP
