Farmers are preparing to march on the port of Thessaloniki today as part of their mobilization.

According to the information so far from the planning that is being done in the “camps” that have been set up at the blockades – both in Nea Malgara and to the east, at the “Green Lanterns” – the farmers are expected to move in a coordinated and massive way towards the port after 10 am, to block it.

Their descent towards the port is planned under the instructions of traffic police officers, in order to avoid causing traffic chaos. However, it remains unknown whether they will be allowed to reach the PPA facilities, where the tractors will be set up, and for how long they will stay there. At the same time, apart from the tractors and agricultural vehicles, people from other blockades in the country are expected to participate in the mobilization.

Meanwhile, yesterday the farmers of Crete met with the Vice President of the Government, Kostis Hatzidakis and the Minister of Rural Development, Kostas Tsiaras, presenting their demands. Hatzidakis and Tsiaras pledged to examine them and address several of them, noting, however, that the agreement with the Commission cannot be exceeded. They agreed, however, to meet again today, at 11.30 am.

This week we have entered the second leg of the mobilizations, where the farmers have decided on an escalation, with mild characteristics. In this way, on the one hand they want to send a clear message to the government about their intentions , but on the other hand they do not want to pull the escalation rope to the extreme.

Dialogue and conditions

The government spokesman once again opened the window of dialogue to the farmers. In fact, he asked for representation from all the blockades at this meeting in an effort for the government to listen to all sides of the farmers’ movement.

On the other hand, the farmers have already conveyed to the government that they will enter into a dialogue that will have the guarantees to address the issues that have been plaguing their sector for many years now. Otherwise, they say, “We don’t want to have a meeting for tea and sympathy.”

It is obvious that before any meeting, the farmers are demanding that the government announce the support package for the primary sector, which is mainly related to the cost of production. That is, they want cheaper farm electricity prices, tax-free hose oil, but they would also like the government to intervene on the very low prices of certain products.