Dozens of Italian farmers with tractors started gathering Monday on the edge of Rome vowing a major demonstration to pressure the government to improve their working conditions.
Italy is one of a number of countries across Europe where farmers have staged weeks of demonstrations to demand lower fuel taxes, better prices for their products and an easing of EU environmental regulations that they say makes it more difficult to compete with cheaper foreign produce.
Around fifty tractors from Tuscany headed towards the Via Nomentana, a main road into central Rome where they were expected Monday evening. Between 1,500 and 2,000 tractors are expected by Friday, Andrea Papa, co-founder of the Agricultural Renewal movement, told AFP.
"In the next few days - announces the leader of the farmers' revolt Danilo Calvani - we will pile up the tractors outside the city. There will be no blockades, but certainly inconveniences: we expect thousands of participants from all over Italy".
Farmer Protests Across Europe
Photo Credit : ANSA and AP
But the protest in Italy is not the first. Farmers are holding protests all across European countries including France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, and more.
“We are no longer making a living from our profession,” one aggrieved farmer in Paris told CNN.
While there are different pain-points throughout each country, the main issues stem from increasing costs, cheap foreign imports, and climate change policies. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, farmers costs for energy, fertilizer, and transportation have all risen, while Ukrainian imports into the countries have increased after quotas and duties were waived.
As the EU looks towards European Parliament elections in June of 2024, many governments have granted exemptions, extended diesel tax rebates/subsidies, and delayed climate change agendas to keep protests at bay.
Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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