**:Xinhua.
Paris, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- In the past few days, in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland and other European Union countries, farmers driving tractors and other agricultural vehicles have blocked highways and even blocked cities.
Analysts pointed out that the "siege" of farmers** is aimed at opposing the possible extension of the tax holiday for Ukrainian agricultural imports by the European Union, and the underlying reason is the existential crisis of rising production costs and declining incomes of EU farmers caused by the deterioration of the international environment. Whether the EU can solve these thorny problems through overall policy adjustments and national response measures has become the focus of attention of all parties.
Where are the "besieged".
The activities of French farmers began on January 22 and spread from the south to the whole country. ** Tractors are used to set up roadblocks on highways and bridges in many places in France to block traffic. On January 29, the ** drove hundreds of tractors to "occupy" the highways in and out of Paris, claiming to "besiege Paris indefinitely".
On January 31, the ** drove the tractor onto the highway leading to the Rangi International Wholesale Market in the southern suburbs of Paris. This wholesale market supplies 18 million inhabitants of Île-de-France every day and is one of the most important distribution centers for agricultural products in Europe. On the same day, he also confronted Paris and arrested more than 90 people who broke into the market to sabotage. French Interior Minister Darmanin said that there were more than 100 blockade points set up by ** people across the country that day, and the number of ** people exceeded 10,000.
In Germany, a large-scale traffic blockade launched by farmers is also underway due to the federal decision to phase out tax breaks for agricultural diesel, among other reasons. In mid-January, part of the streets of the capital, Berlin, were besieged by tractors. On January 29, in the Port of Hamburg, Germany's largest port, farmers used hundreds of tractors to disrupt traffic throughout the center of Hamburg. In the north, Bremerhaven also experienced traffic jams due to agricultural ***.
Italian farmers have been blocking traffic with tractors near the northern city of Milan for days. Some Italian peasant groups have claimed that they will organize thousands of farmers to travel to Brussels, where the EU headquarters is located**.
Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries have also seen farmers driving tractors**, seriously hindering traffic and urban operations.
Why are EU farmers**.
There is a common reason for the recent agricultural activities in many EU countries, that is, the European Commission plans to extend the tariff exemption period for goods imported from Ukraine, especially agricultural products, for another year, that is, from June 2024 to June 2025.
After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the European Union exempted some Ukrainian agricultural products from tariffs in order to support Ukraine. Due to the fact that the cost of agricultural production in Ukraine is lower than that of the European Union, coupled with the advantages brought by preferential tariffs on agricultural products, the profit margins of agricultural products in France, Germany, Italy and other countries have been compressed. Farmers in these countries feel that they are facing unfair competition and believe that their local markets** will be forced to decline, and the competitiveness of their agricultural products will be severely weakened.
Analysts pointed out that due to multiple factors such as climate change, intensified international competition, and the improvement of fuel and EU environmental standards, the cost of agricultural products in many EU countries remains high, farmers' incomes have declined, and life has fallen into difficulties, and there are strong worries about the future. This is the fundamental reason for the occurrence of agricultural activities in many EU countries.
How the EU will respond.
The Extraordinary Summit of the 27 EU Leaders will be held in Brussels on 1 February, with a focus on agriculture. The Elysee Palace, the French government, said that Macron will discuss with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the summit a "short-term and long-term" response to the demands of farmers.
Macron made it clear a few days ago that he hopes the EU will take "clear measures" on grain, chicken and other agricultural products from Ukraine to prevent the market from being "out of balance".
On January 30, France's new Prime Minister Attar said in a speech to the National Assembly on his policy platform that he would take all measures to deal with the current agricultural crisis. He promised that agricultural subsidies from the European Union will be provided to farmers by March 15, and additional tax incentives will be provided for livestock workers. On January 31, French Agriculture Minister Marc Feno announced an additional subsidy of 80 million euros for winegrowers and 1€500 million in subsidies for switching to other crops.
Analysts believe that the EU may make appropriate concessions in policy and increase subsidies to farmers, coupled with the targeted response measures taken by relevant EU countries, although agricultural activities will continue for a period of time, but can eventually ease and be temporarily calmed.
It should be pointed out that due to the international environment, and taking into account the different situations of EU countries, it is difficult for the EU to truly solve the fundamental problems of EU agricultural competitiveness and agricultural producers' profits in the short term, and there is a possibility of periodic outbreaks of EU agricultural activities in the future. (Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Ji).