Decision Time for Farmers’ Roadblocks – The Scenarios Under Consideration

Farmers who took part yesterday (19 January) in the lengthy meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion were far from satisfied. Final decisions on the continuation of the roadblocks, and more broadly on their next steps, are expected later today.

The president of the Larissa United Federation of Agricultural Associations, Rizos Maroudas, said that they presented their demands to the prime minister, who acknowledged them. “He recognised the legitimacy of our demands, but hid behind what we see as the familiar justifications — that there are fiscal constraints and that the government can go no further than the measures already announced, with some minor improvements and promises that we managed to extract,” he said, stressing the importance of collective action through the farmers’ roadblocks.

At the same time, he stressed that the prime minister lacks the political will to resolve the problems and is pushing many people out of production. “We applied pressure and we also felt pressure, and for that reason there will be announcements. No struggle is ever wasted — the only wasted struggle is the one that never takes place. We are continuing, and tomorrow our colleagues at the roadblocks will be briefed so that we can decide on our next moves,” he said. He concluded by noting that they are not satisfied and that yesterday’s meeting does not change the overall picture regarding the government’s announcements.

For his part, the president of the Kastoria Agricultural Association, Thomas Moschos, said that for livestock farming the meeting could not have gone worse. “We ran into a wall, and they avoided answering every question we raised. They do not want to bring in vaccines; they repeated the same stories and the same script we have been hearing for a long time,” he said, before listing the questions they put to the prime minister.

“We asked how many people were paid on the basis of invoices for the purchase of animal feed, how it is possible to set up a new OPEKEPE and be missing only one person — the one who exposed the scandal — whether there are cases of sheep pox in Crete, and whether someone who wants to enter livestock farming is actually able to do so. There was no answer to any of these questions,” he said. “We asked for honest answers, but none were given. From here on, we will pursue legal action.”

“Personally, I believe things here should turn into France,” he said, referring to mass-style protests. “But we’ll see what happens — we will hold our assemblies tomorrow. We don’t know whether we will take part in the minister’s meeting with livestock farmers. We don’t want to be part of something that turns into ridicule and mockery.”

The meeting was also described as a farce by the president of the fishermen’s association, Panagiotis Perrakis. “Some people simply do not want to support the primary sector. I want to believe that the prime minister understood what we told him and will take responsibility himself,” he said.

“I asked the prime minister what his view is on tax evasion, and he looked at me in surprise. We were not satisfied, apart from some minor announcements that are supposed to be implemented and which, in fact, have been announced for a long time. This is the result of the roadblocks and of our common struggle,” he added.

The representative of the beekeepers said that “we informed the prime minister so that no one can claim they are unaware of the problems facing beekeeping. These problems have been stagnating for years and are harming the sector,” he said. He noted that the prime minister committed to convening an interministerial meeting, with his own participation, in order to resolve the issues.

The Scenarios Under Consideration

On Tuesday afternoon (20 January), a detailed briefing is expected to take place at the Nikaia roadblock by the farmers’ representatives who attended the meeting at the Maximos Mansion. Afterwards, decisions will be made on their next steps.

At present, there appears to be an inclination towards de-escalation; however, representatives stressed that each roadblock and the farmers participating in it will decide independently on what comes next. In this context, the possibility remains open that some groups may not continue to stay at the locations where tractors have been positioned for nearly two months.

Various proposals are expected to be put forward, while according to information, the option of a protest rally in Athens — or locally in each region — also remains on the table.