The European Commission has “ responded to requests from France » concerning the relaxation of fallow obligations and the limitation of Ukrainian agricultural imports, two points of tension for French farmers, the Élysée indicated on Wednesday January 31. On the eve of the European summit, anger is brewing in rural areas against the European Union. In France, around a hundred farmers were arrested this Wednesday.
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What Brussels offers
Brussels proposed on Wednesday to grant a partial exemption from fallow obligations in the EU and to limit any uncontrollable increase in Ukrainian agricultural imports, offering guarantees to farmers protesting across Europe. “ The two important issues on which Europe is the right level to act were resolved quickly in response to our requests », Underlined the Élysée, on the eve of a meeting between the president of the European executive, Ursula von der Leyen, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Brussels is proposing to renew for an additional year, between June 2024 and June 2025, the exemption from customs duties granted to Ukraine since spring 2022 to support the country at war. But by matching it with “ safeguard measures » reinforced limiting the impact of imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, which jumped by 11% in value over one year in January-September 2023. « We keep the political objective of supporting Ukraine and, at the same time, we protect European farmers in sensitive sectors », Specifies the Élysée.
Farmers accuse the influx of cereals, eggs and chickens from Ukraine of lowering local prices, particularly in neighboring countries, and of fueling competition. unfair » failing to meet certain standards.
On the fallow obligations imposed by the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which came into force at the start of 2023, Brussels is proposing to the Twenty-Seven a “ partial exemption » allowing them to receive aid even without respecting the proportion of at least 4% of arable land fallow. “ This concretely responds to the request for flexibility that we had formulated », Adds the Élysée.
Read alsoAgricultural crisis: no relaxation in France, all eyes are on Brussels
Grain growers demand customs duties for Ukraine
French grain producers want to see customs duties reinstated beyond a quota of imports from Ukraine, saying on Wednesday “ extremely disappointed » to see cereals excluded from “sensitive” products for which Brussels plans to limit the increase in imports.
“ We are extremely disappointed. The problem is crucial for cereals. Between 2021 and 2023, imports of Ukrainian wheat into the European Union increased twenty-fold. We went from 215 000 tonnes of wheat in 2021 to 5 million tonnes in 2023 », Declared Eric Thirouin, president of the General Association of Wheat and Other Cereal Producers (AGPB), to AFP. “ We must find the right balance between solidarity with Ukraine and the consequences for European agriculture. By removing customs duties, the EU has created a breath of fresh air which is now generating very difficult market distortions, in a context of rising production costs and falling prices (on the markets) », Estimates Eric Thirouin.
For French cereal producers, we must return to a “ quota ” or cereal quota beyond which customs duties must again apply, pleading for a quota ” lower to 2 million tonnes, as was the case before the war “.
Farmers determined to continue the mobilization
After an intrusion at the end of the afternoon in a “ storage area » at the Rungis market, the largest fresh produce market in the world and a crucial supply point for the French capital, 79 people were arrested. This is in addition to the 15 arrests that occurred a little earlier for “ obstructing traffic » near Rungis, south of Paris.
These arrests are the first since Monday in France, where farmers blocked several highways leading to Paris with their tractors and caused a new social crisis, a year after the highly contested pension reform. At midday on Wednesday, more than 80 blockades, 4,500 devices and 6,000 demonstrators were recorded in the country, according to a police source cited by AFP.
The movement of anger is not limited to France, with demonstrations in Germanyin Poland, Romania or Belgium in recent weeks.
In Italy, thousands of farmers, from Sardinia to Piedmont, demonstrated again on Wednesday. “ Agriculture is dying », We could read in Cuneo, a town in the north of the country crossed by a hundred tractors honking their horns.
In Spain, gatherings were reported near Leon and Zamora, in the northwest. The Spanish Minister of Agriculture announced that he would receive the three main agricultural unions on Friday, who promised “mobilizations” on “ next weeks “.
Portuguese farmers also called for mobilization on Thursday morning on the country’s roads with tractors and agricultural machines.
Read alsoFarmers: anger spreads across Europe on the eve of a crucial summit in Brussels