If French farmers continue to maintain the pressure, a few days before the opening of the Agricultural Show in Paris, their European counterparts are not giving up either.
The European agricultural world continues to express its anger against the environmental standards imposed by the European Union, the unfair competition created by imports from Ukraine or the complexity of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Coordinated mobilization in the East
On Monday, a new demonstration was expected in Prague, Czech Republic.
Representatives of agricultural organizations from Central and Eastern European countries also agreed to organize a day of coordinated international demonstration on Thursday, reports Euractiv.
Delegations from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Latvia met last Tuesday in Poland to decide on the organization of this first day of joint mobilization.
Also read: Germany, Romania, Netherlands… Why are farmers demonstrating elsewhere in Europe?
On the Warsaw side, a new demonstration is also announced this Tuesday, while farmers launched a “one-month general strike” on February 9.
In addition to the climate measures imposed by the European Union, they are particularly protesting against the massive importation of Ukrainian products, exempt from customs duties since the Russian invasion.
Since November, they have been blocking roads and border crossings and the diplomatic incident has been brewing.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on Monday called the border blockade a “threat to the security” of Ukraine.
Polish farmers also denounce the lack of action from their government, which recently raised the possibility of imposing new bans on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.
Demonstrations in Madrid and Athens
The situation also remains tense in Spain, the leading European exporting country of fruit and vegetables.
The three agricultural unions have planned a demonstration on Wednesday in Madrid, in front of the Ministry of Agriculture.
For two weeks, farmers have been mobilizing across the country, blocking major roads.
Last Thursday, several tractors had already gathered on the sidelines of a meeting with the minister responsible for the sector, Luis Planas.
The latter had already announced "the creation of a national food information and control agency" and assured that he would plead for a simplification of the CAP and the defense of "mirror clauses", which require imported products to respect the same rules as those imposed on European farmers.
Three announcements which were not enough to relieve the pressure.
Also read: Anger of farmers: European Union, State… who sets the rules?
On Tuesday, Greek farmers also planned to converge on Athens, after several days of blocking roads.
Last week, conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received representatives of the sector and opened the discussion, while recalling the country's limited “fiscal margins”.
Among the promises already granted, but considered insufficient: a reduction in electricity bills for the next ten years, from April, a reduction in VAT on fertilizers and animal food.
A meeting of European ministers next Monday
At the beginning of February, other European farmers also expressed their anger, from Germany to Portugal, including Belgium and Switzerland.
Last Thursday, more than a thousand farmers were still gathered in Rome after demonstrations in several Italian cities.
To calm the anger, the head of the far-right government Giorgia Meloni promised the restoration of tax exemptions for low-income farmers.
To respond to the agricultural revolt, the European Commission has already adopted a partial exemption from fallow obligations for 2024, one of the key demands of farmers.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, also announced the withdrawal of a controversial law which notably aimed to halve the use of pesticides by 2030.
The European executive remains eagerly awaited on the subject: the Ministers of Agriculture of the European Union are meeting next Monday.
Under pressure.