Four key factors have led the government to change its stance on the issue of farmer mobilizations, after five weeks during which a more lenient and conciliatory approach had been preferred. The first reason for adopting a tougher and stricter stance is the continued long-term refusal of farmers to appoint a committee, a representation group, and to engage in dialogue, despite the repeated public invitations they received. During this entire period there were many behind-the-scenes outreach attempts, individual farmers or groups of farmers who met away from the public spotlight with government officials, however organized dialogue for tension de-escalation could not be conducted, as it appears that the views of the more “hardliners” prevail in most blockades.
The second factor is the increasing volume of complaints and protests from drivers who needed hours-long journeys to cover distances of a few hundred kilometers. “People’s patience has been exhausted, who spent many extra hours to reach their destination and somewhere a limit must be set on all this. Being in favor of any fellow citizen getting as much extra as they can and as much as they were deprived of in previous years, does not mean that you can tolerate a situation of hardship for a long time,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis characteristically stated.
The third, following the second, is the problems created in tourism, with booking cancellations during the holiday period, in transportation, with additional costs for companies and in commerce, with delayed product deliveries and extra charges. These events are already creating a problem for the economy, which is currently limited, something that will be overturned however if road blockades continue indefinitely.
The fourth reason is that the government now has the conviction that the fiscal space for benefits to farmers has been exhausted, while Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s will is to utilize any window for additional benefits for other social groups. That is, it is likely there will be an announcement of some positive measures after Holy Week (Easter Sunday falls on April 12). This is because every April, ELSTAT and Eurostat certify the primary surplus of the General Government for the previous year, as well as the total fiscal balance. Earlier, ELSTAT announces the growth data for the fourth quarter of the previous year. Thus, with the final data on the progress of annual budget execution, the government can have a clear picture of the existing fiscal margins and the prime minister can present new support measures, as he did last year, in mid to late April.
In the triangle between Maximos Mansion – government vice-presidency – Ministry of Rural Development, as well as the Ministry of Finance, consultations were continuous in recent times and final decisions were taken at the meeting held on Monday morning. Thus, tomorrow, Wednesday, morning, at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Kostis Hatzidakis, Kostas Tsiaras, Dimitris Papastergiou and Thanos Petralias will specify all the measures the government has taken for the primary sector and those it can still take. They will explain that 20 of the 27 demands formulated by farmers have either been implemented or are being processed for implementation. Seven of these cannot be resolved either because they clash with basic European rules and CAP operation or because they are fiscally unfeasible. Especially Mr. Tsiaras and Hatzidakis know how much effort was needed in the two-month period September-October to formulate the final Action Plan for modernizing the agricultural subsidy management and control system and to get the Commission’s green light and are expected to explain why the agreement with the European Commission should not and cannot be jeopardized.
As Mr. Hatzidakis already mentioned yesterday regarding some of the farmers’ basic demands, for lower electricity prices, DEH is ready to submit an even more positive proposal, for the return of excise duty on agricultural fuel, there is a ready proposal from the Ministry of Finance and AADE for tax return at the pump to address delays and injustices, while for Hellenization of imported products there is a proposal from the Ministry of Digital Governance for product traceability.
“Too much time has passed, the government cannot remain with crossed arms and play traffic cop in a blocked country,” Kostis Hatzidakis stated, essentially pre-announcing sanctions henceforth against farmers who obstruct road traffic. “There is a legal framework, which quite simply can be applied. We don’t want to reach that point, however, now, the limits have been exhausted and perhaps we are at ‘plus five.’ It’s clear what we mean,” Mr. Marinakis noted.
