In Bucharest, Romania, the coalition government announced on Friday that it had come to an agreement with farmers and hauliers to put an end to a weeks-long protest against high business costs. This is occurring as farmers in other parts of the EU continue to block roads and border crossings.
The protests are the result of frustration regarding low prices for agricultural products, increasing costs, the importation of low-cost food items, and restrictions imposed by the European Union’s efforts to combat climate change.
For the past three weeks, hundreds of farmers and truck drivers in Romania have been protesting, using convoys of tractors and trucks to impede or halt traffic on national roads near major cities, including the capital city of Bucharest. Additionally, they briefly blocked a border crossing with Ukraine and tried to restrict access to the Black Sea port of Constanta.
The government has made concessions by taking action to raise subsidies for diesel, address high insurance rates, expedite subsidy payments, and implement technical measures to reduce lengthy wait times at border crossings.
On Friday, an agreement was signed between Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and representatives of the protesters. This agreement establishes a committee that will bring together various ministries to devise solutions, according to the government.
This year, Romania will be holding local, parliamentary, presidential, and European elections.
French farmers also began to lift their blockades on Friday following further concessions from their government.
Meanwhile, protesters in other countries, such as those in the Netherlands blocking the Dutch-Belgian border and in Greece blocking roads, continued their demonstrations. The Polish farmers’ union Solidarity announced a general strike beginning next Friday, which will include a blockade of border crossings to Ukraine.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
