Farmers reject PM’s updated proposals
Protesting farmers rejected the measures to reduce energy costs announced by the prime minister on Tuesday during a meeting with representatives, and said they will continue mobilizations.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told Mega TV the PM’s proposal answers the two basic requests. “The electricity proposal is for two years at the cost limit. It is vital that no money is taken from the state budget,” he said.
“Also important is the proposal to settle all electricity debts, over a 10-year period without interest. For agricultural oil, we will have a refund of the excise tax for the third year, front-loaded with a 50% advance payment, and the discussion is opening for a more permanent and fairer way of payment,” he added.
However, the competitiveness problem in the sector goes beyond any support measures. Three out of four farms in Greece are under 5 hectares, while the EU average is 17 hectares. Also, only 0.7% of farmers have full training, the lowest percentage in the EU.
According to the National Register of Agricultural Cooperatives, there are 1,056 collective bodies, perhaps the most of all EU members, but they produce the lowest value per cooperative.
