Farmers’ Roadblocks: Bypass Roads to Close at Midday – How Protests Will Continue Over the Holiday Period

The Panhellenic Conference of Farmers’ Roadblocks, held in Serres and attended by representatives from roadblocks across the country, decided how their protests will be escalated in the run-up to the holiday period.

Farmers stressed that while they want the public on their side, they are determined to spend New Year’s Day at the roadblocks in order to continue their struggle, demanding substantive solutions for the primary sector.

They reiterated that they will not allow what they described as the government’s attempt to turn society against them to succeed, clarifying that their anger intensified following the withholding of insurance contributions by ELGA before the final payment of the basic subsidy was made. Although the issue was resolved a few hours later, they argued that it should never have arisen in the first place. For this reason, farmers are speaking of mockery.

They recalled their three core demands, which are:

• compensation for lost income across all crops,
• a reduction in the price of electricity to 7 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, and
• tax-free diesel at the pump.

Livestock farmers put forward their own key demands:

a) vaccination of sheep and goats, and
b) free replenishment of lost livestock capital.

From today, therefore, roadblocks will be intensified, including the closure of bypass roads. The coming days are expected to unfold as follows.

The development of farmers’ roadblocks in the coming days

Friday

This morning, roads will remain open, also due to the Tempi trial. From 2:00 p.m., the simultaneous closure of bypass roads across the country will begin. Each roadblock will act according to its own capacity. For example, in Thessaloniki, the roadblock at Malgara will close the lane heading toward the city until Tuesday.

Weekend

Farmers will approach toll stations and request that the barriers be lifted to allow free passage of vehicles. However, as these are private companies, consent will be required in order for drivers to pass freely.

Monday

The same measures as Friday will apply, with the addition of new closures and coordinated actions.

Tuesday

On the day schools close and the Christmas holiday exodus begins, tractors will be moved alongside the roads and traffic will be allowed to flow.

At that point, decisions will also be made on how the mobilizations will continue in view of New Year’s. One scenario under discussion is that roads will remain open until Friday, 26 December.

Special arrangements at specific roadblocks

At the Malgara roadblock, from midday (12:00) on Friday, 19/12, until Tuesday, 23/12, both directions of traffic—from and toward Thessaloniki—as well as some service roads, will be closed.

At the Evzones border checkpoint, the daily blockade continues from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the following day.

In Lefkonas, Serres, the closure of bypass roads is planned—depending on the strength of the roadblock—from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. until Tuesday.

At the Promachonas border station, an indefinite blockade has been decided in both directions of traffic for all trucks.

In Nikaia, farmers and livestock breeders will meet at midday to decide how they will escalate their actions, based on what was agreed at the Serres meeting. The most likely scenario is the closure of a bypass road (most probably the old National Road of Larissa–Volos), where traffic is diverted by traffic police during mobilizations. The closure would apply from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.