A meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and representatives of the farmers will take place at 1:00 p.m. The first farmer representatives have already begun arriving at the Maximos Mansion.

A total of 25 members of the farmers’ committee—along with six observers—will be present at the Maximos Mansion in order to present to the Prime Minister the full framework of problems troubling the primary sector.

The government has made it clear that there is no room for additional financial measures; however, farmers and livestock breeders will alternatively request that every last available EU fund be exhausted to support the sector.

“The farmers know that the framework of interventions the government can make has, in practical terms, already been announced. And this framework is clearly defined by the fiscal margins—which we have exhausted—by social justice, and by European rules,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized in his Sunday post, essentially setting the tone ahead of the discussion with the representatives.

It is recalled that Mr. Mitsotakis will also hold a special meeting in the coming days—specifically next week—exclusively on the issue of livestock farming, with an emphasis on sheep pox.

The Maximos Mansion, of course, also has a strong argument as to why no more money can be allocated to the farming community: simply because today’s farm union leaders are more “hardline” than those who went to the Maximos Mansion last Tuesday. That argument is that one social group, no matter how important, cannot be supported unilaterally while other social groups are unable to press their claims with the same intensity.

Farmers come to the meeting with 14 demands

The farmers’ representatives will present a list of 14 demands for which, as they say, there is fiscal room to provide solutions.

Key issues, according to them, include production costs, tackling sheep and goat pox, and compensating for lost income.

It is noted that after the meeting with the Prime Minister, they are expected to go to the roadblocks, where general assemblies will be held. At the Nikaia roadblock, they have decided to hold a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 6:00 p.m. in order to determine their next steps.