Status: 04.01.2024, 18:15 PM
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A tractor pulls the plough and harrow across a harvested field. © Jens Büttner/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Symbolbild
With numerous demonstrations, Saxon farmers want to take part in the nationwide week of protest against the federal government's austerity plans. Despite improvements, this has been criticised.
Dresden - Regardless of the concessions of the federal government, there are likely to be widespread farmers' protests in Saxony in the coming week. Even after the announcement by the federal government that planned cuts would be partially withdrawn, Saxon farmers are sticking to their planned protests. What the federal government has proposed is a rotten compromise, said Diana Henke, spokeswoman for the state farmers' association, on Thursday in Dresden.
The farmers stuck to their demand to maintain subsidies for agricultural diesel. "We don't have any alternative forms of propulsion," Henke said. The green license plate for agricultural machinery must also be retained.
The traffic light coalition originally wanted to abolish both the tax break for agricultural diesel and the exemption of agricultural vehicles from vehicle tax. This tax exemption is now to remain, but the federal government is sticking to the abolition of the agricultural diesel subsidy - not in one step as initially planned, but spread over three years.
Kretschmer: Improvements "just a drop in the ocean"
According to Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, the federal government's concession on agricultural subsidies is not enough. The federal government must also withdraw the planned burdens on agricultural diesel, the CDU politician wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter). "The withdrawal of the motor vehicle tax for agriculture is only a drop in the ocean compared to the abolition of agricultural diesel subsidies," criticized Kretschmer. It places a one-sided and disproportionate burden on farmers and leads to a further increase in the cost of food production.
Günther: Correction is going in the right direction
Saxony's Minister of Agriculture Wolfram Günther (Greens), on the other hand, said: "This correction is clearly going in the right direction." It would have been wrong to make agriculture disproportionately responsible for the changes in the preparation of the federal budget. Agriculture still has no alternative to its diesel-powered agricultural machinery. "Farmers need support in making the switch," Günther said.
Several protest actions planned in Saxony
The State Farmers' Association is planning an action week from 8 January together with the association Land schafft Verbindung and the family farms Land und Forst in Saxony and Thuringia. According to Henke, "many decentralised actions" are planned for Monday - from motorcades to a demonstration at the Elbe bridge in Torgau to protests at motorway entrances. On Wednesday, a large rally is planned in Dresden, and on Monday, January 15, Saxon farmers want to take part in a nationwide demonstration in Berlin.
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Hospital company asks for consideration
In view of the announced protests, the hospital company asked for consideration for medical staff. Especially in rural areas, roadblocks could create significant challenges for hospitals and emergency services. Hospital staff and emergency services must be allowed to pass through blockades and barriers. Otherwise, there would be serious dangers for the sick or people in need. dpa