An assembly of farmers’ unions from across Greece that took place in the city of Larissa on Sunday decided to escalate sector protests with roadblocks and port actions beginning November 30.
Soaring production costs, delayed payments of subsidies and the unresolved sheeppox crisis have brought Greek farmers and stock breeders to despair.
Farmers roadblocks to spread across Greece
Farmers in Thessaly suggested organizing a single blockade on the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway. Setting up additional blockades in various parts of Greece from the end of November was also discussed, so that the wave of mobilizations can spread nationwide by December 5, AMNA reports.
Representatives from other regions analysed their own plans on how they would organize protests locally.
Among the proposals were tractors taking to the streets in cities, port actions and other forms of protest that are being considered depending on the needs of each region.
Greek farmers faced with multitude of issues
While 82,000 farmers received 42 million euro (48.3 million USD) earlier this week as a fraction of delayed subsidy payments, the unions argue that their sector is plagued by a multitude of chronic systemic failures.
They protest for the farm funds scandal that was revealed earlier this year, the considerable delays in subsidy payments, and call for guaranteed minimum prices for their products.
Breeders are also protesting for the delayed and inefficient state response to the sheeppox outbreak which has continued to decimate the country’s livestock for over a year, forcing many units to shut down.
Sheeppox vaccination still under debate in Greece
European Commission officials have previously emphasized that sheeppox vaccination should have already begun in Greece to prevent further escalation.
Greek authorities, however, have requested EU support primarily in terms of scientific guidance for the use of these vaccines, noting that other European countries with sheeppox cases, such as Bulgaria and Romania, have not implemented vaccination programs.
EU officials confirmed that the vaccines are EU-approved and offered nearly 400,000 doses to Greece, along with potential financial assistance if additional supplies are required. Technical-level consultations between the EU and Greek authorities are ongoing, and recommendations for Greece to proceed with vaccination have been issued for some time to contain the outbreak.