Farmers who take to the streets continue to occupy politicians. In the western EU member states, it is the strict environmental requirements and high regulatory pressure that farmers are protesting against. In the eastern member states it is the import of cheap grain from Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk put a remarkable twist on this. Sanctions against Russian agriculture were out of the question. This is now changing under pressure from the farmers' protests.
Today (Monday, March 4), Tusk announced during a visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius that he is seeking support within the EU for sanctions against agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. "I would like to inform you that today I will address the Speaker of Parliament with a proposal for a resolution calling on the European Commission to impose sanctions on food products from Russia and Belarus," Tusk said today during the conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. Until now, food has been carefully kept out of Western sanctions so as not to endanger the world food supply.
Unrest not gone yet
The cold has not yet disappeared in France either. On Sunday, the leader of the largest farmers' union in France, FNSEA, said that he certainly does not rule out new actions in the coming weeks. This despite promises from the French government to provide a support package of €400 million. The core of the unrest among European farmers lies mainly in low product prices, which puts heavy pressure on their earning capacity. A solution has not simply been invented, although with the European elections approaching, the protesting farmers have gotten their sore points on the political agenda.