As of: February 19, 2024, 3:25 p.m
By: Simon Schröder
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The farmers' protests are causing discussions across Europe.
There are also protests in Italy.
Here the farmers are asking the Pope for support.
Rome – The agricultural sector in Europe has been protesting since January.
Initially in Germany against a reduction in the agricultural diesel subsidy, now across Europe against new EU directives such as the pesticide regulation.
In Italy they rely on an unusual approach.
The Italian farmers are now hoping for the support of Pope Francis himself.
The protesters had a cow named Ercolina II in tow.
They gathered in St. Peter's Square to attend the Pope's Angelus prayer and to express their displeasure to the Holy Father.
“The Vatican and the Pope must give a voice to our problems.
We are here symbolically, we have brought a tractor with us, the Ercolina cow that was in Sanremo is also coming,” said Pietro Megna, a spokesman for the protesters on February 18th.
They further write in a letter to the Pope: “Dear Pontiff, with infinite gratitude we thank you for giving us the opportunity to bring our voice and our presence to your holy house,” according to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della
Sera
quoted from the letter.
A delegation of farmers gathers during Pope Francis' Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Feb. 18, 2024. Pope Francis on Feb. 18 welcomed Italian farmers who had come to St. Peter's at the Vatican's invitation to meet him ask them to advocate for their concerns.
EPA © MASSIMO PERCOSSI
The Pope receives a tractor as a gift for supporting the farmers' protests
The Pope greeted the demonstrators before beginning the Angelus prayer: “I greet the farmers and breeders present in the square,”
Sky TG24
reports.
As a thank you for the support, the Pope was given a tractor from the farmers.
At the end of the farmers' letter it says: "We are giving them a tractor, a symbol of our commitment." The cow, which was also there as a symbol of the protests, belongs to Cristian Belonni, the owner of a grain production company.
It is intended to represent the plight of farmers, as
The Guardian
reports.
The cow is also a minor celebrity.
She is the offspring of Ercolina, who was already a symbol of the protests against EU milk quotas in the 1990s.
In addition to St. Peter's Square, the farmers with their tractors were also at the Circus Maximus, or Capitol Square.
As of Tuesday (February 20), Italian farmers are back on the streets to fight for their demands.
In a statement from the farmers, they called for “immediate measures on the costs of agricultural products, the tax credit for fuels and the banking moratorium.”
(Simon Schröder)