site.btaGreek Farmers Submit Demands as Precondition for Starting Talks with Government

After rejecting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s invitation for talks on Monday, protesting Greek farmers prepared a list of demands during a nationwide meeting in Nikaia, Larissa region on Saturday. The list is to be presented to the government as a precondition for beginning negotiations to end the blockades on transport infrastructure, the state broadcaster ERT reported.

The demands are as follows:

• An end to punitive actions against protest participants by a parliamentary decision;
• Payment of amounts owed by the government, including subsidies and compensations;
• Minimum guaranteed prices;
• Electricity at a rate of 7 eurocents per kilowatt-hour;
• Fuel at the pump free of excise duties and taxes;
• Reduction of production costs;
• Closure of the energy exchange;
• Restoration of the Agricultural Payments Agency (OPEKEPE);
• Distribution of misused OPEKEPE funds to the actual rightful beneficiaries;
• Introduction of a control mechanism within OPEKEPE;
• Reversal of the decision to transfer OPEKEPE’s operations to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE); and
• Disclosure of the names of those who misappropriated funds.

Separate demands were also announced by livestock breeders, who face problems due to the spread of disease among small ruminants. They insist on:

• Vaccination of animals with full compensation for losses;
• Restoration of lost income; and
• Free restocking of herds.

The farmers insist that their demands be met before they take part in dialogue.

Around 600 representatives from 57 blockades across Greece attended the meeting in Nikaia. They decided to escalate their protest actions from Monday.

Farmers in Greece have been protesting with blockades of roads, border crossings, ports, and airports for two weeks. The protests were prompted by delays in the payment of agricultural subsidies due to a corruption scandal that affected OPEKEPE earlier this year.