During February, widespread agricultural protests took over many European Union countries like France, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Germany and Spain. These Farming protests began over economic and environmental policies that have been negatively affecting farmers ever since cheap agricultural imports from Ukraine have been replacing natively grown and made produce.
The main cause amongst these European Union countries has been taxation on goods essential to the agricultural industry.
In Germany, the government plans to cut tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture which is an attempt by the German government to raise additional funding after a 17 billion Dollar deficit in the country’s budget. French protests also were based on the government’s plan to stop a tax break on diesel used in agriculture due to the country’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
Image belongs to Copyright Holder. Image from – https://apnews.com
In Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland, protests focused on blocking the Ukrainian border to stop the import of cheap Ukrainian Goods that have been undermining the native agricultural industries of these countries.
The cost of fertiliser and energy rose sharply after imports from Ukraine and Russia dropped sharply due to European Union sanctions. Russia produced 51.7 million Tonnes of fertiliser. Ukraine produced 6.3 million Tonnes. After the EU reduced Russian energy imports and fertiliser imports, the price of production for agricultural goods and as a result the price of the goods themselves rose. Due to the rise in prices, EU countries imported cheaper foreign-grown food, which further undermined the country’s agricultural industry.
These environmental and economic policies lead to the difficulty that European farmers are facing. They cannot afford the continued high prices of fertiliser and energy coupled with fierce market competition from abroad. These factors culminated in the large swathes of protests over Europe where farmers have been lining trucks to block the Ukrainian border in Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland, spraying Hay and Manure over government buildings and dumping tires to form road blockades.
Image belongs to Copyright Holders. Image from – https://apnews.com (Thomas Padilla/AP)
All images belong to Copyright Holders.
Cover image – https://apnews.com