Shortly after noon, a government quartet consisting of Vice President of the Government Kostis Hatzidakis, Minister of Rural Development Kostas Tsiaras, Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou, and Deputy Minister of Finance Thanos Petralias is expected to announce and detail a framework of several interventions aimed at supporting the primary sector.

This is a package that could have been co-designed with farmers had they entered into dialogue; however, the government is now presenting it on its own and will legislate on its own if necessary. This is because, as government officials say, the government legislates for the many and not only for the few agricultural unionists who are blocking roads across the country.

The package of government measures is not insignificant, and for the first time it appears that government officials will have the attention of the blockades, which are waiting to hear the specifics of the measures. Of course, government sources explain that the plan to be announced is not negotiable in its core parameters. It would have been, had dialogue preceded it, but now it has a clear “take it or leave it” character as far as the continuation of the blockades is concerned.

The measures

At the forefront is the new regulation on agricultural electricity, with an even lower price capped at 8.2 cents per kWh for a two-year period and the possibility for farmers who lost the arrangement to rejoin the GAIA program. It should be noted behind the scenes that there are strong objections from PPC (DEI), as well as acknowledgment by government officials that no other European country applies a subsidy program for agricultural electricity.

The other key regulation concerns agricultural diesel fuel, for which a special application will be introduced that will take into account each farmer’s consumption in previous years. Through this application, farmers will purchase fuel at the pump with the excise duty (EFK) deducted, while until recently there had also been discussions about revising the subsidized liters of fuel per crop, figures that date back to 2015.

Also included in the equation is an additional subsidy of €160 million for loss of income and livestock capital, 100% compensation by ELGA for insured damages, and more. The presence of Mr. Papastergiou is also linked to a new application for tracing potential illegal “Hellenizations,” which are considered a “scourge” for Greek livestock farming.

Police preparations

Once the measures are announced, the government will await the response of the farmers, who have announced further escalation on Thursday. It appears that farmers genuinely expect to hear something that will act as a pressure valve—or at least many of them do. However, since the government will not “pull rabbits out of a hat,” government officials are rather conservative in their expectations regarding a constructive stance from agricultural unionists. After all, in recent weeks there were behind-the-scenes messages in favor of dialogue that never materialized in the assemblies of the blockades, resulting in the current situation.

In any case, this afternoon at the Maximos Mansion there will also be a discussion with Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis regarding police planning in view of the prospect of escalation of farmers’ mobilizations starting tomorrow. And of course, if the logic of escalation prevails, the government will play the card of administrative and criminal sanctions for the tractors lined up on the roads, whose owners have all been identified.