BRUSSELS, Jan 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - EU agriculture ministers will discuss on
Tuesday how to resolve European farmers' growing discontent as Brussels
scrambles to address the issue ahead of elections this year.

Europe's farmers are in revolt. The fury has led to road blockages and
tractor parades in the past few weeks, with farmers taking their protests to
the street in France, Germany, Poland and Romania, after the Netherlands
earlier.

From rising fuel costs to anger over green regulations to what farmers' say
is unfair competition from Ukrainian imports, the list of grievances is long.

The agriculture question matters a lot, with surveys showing a surge of the
far-right and nationalists -- who take up the issue fervently -- in the June
elections.

Keenly aware of this, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in
September promised a "strategic dialogue" with farmers, stressing that
"agriculture and nature conservation can go hand in hand".

The initiative formally begins on Thursday.

Powerful agri-group Copa-Cogeca said it was a "welcome initiative, albeit one
which has been slow to materialise", adding that "the scope of the
discussions remains particularly vague".

The aim of Thursday's meeting will be to address concerns that the green
transition will wreak further havoc for farmers.

"The strategic dialogue will address... questions around how can we guarantee
a fair standard of living for farmers and rural communities, supporting
agriculture within the boundaries of the planet," commission spokesperson
Olof Gill said.

Agricultural groups, members of the agri-food sector, non-governmental
organisations and experts are also expected to take part.

- 'Undermining farms' -

Farmers have protested over national issues, for example, in Germany over
government plans to scrap tax breaks for agriculture.

But they are united by concerns over the increasing challenges facing
agriculture, including extreme weather, bird flu and surging fuel costs.

Then there is the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products into the EU since
the lifting of customs duties in 2022. Brussels will decide whether to renew
the measure in June.

Agricultural groups call for import limits on Ukrainian products like cereals
and sugar, which they say pushes prices further down.

Another bone of contention is over what farmers say is excessive regulation.

"The European regulatory machine continues to operate at full speed, ignoring
the geopolitical, climatic and economic context that is undermining farms and
farmers' incomes. We deplore this!" Copa-Cogeca said in a statement.

- Ignored warnings -

Farmers' discontent has been a growing concern in the European Parliament.

The right-wing EPP, the largest parliamentary grouping, has often sought to
water down agricultural texts, arguing it represents farmers' wishes.

"We share the green ambition but it must be adapted to the economic
situation. Agricultural prices are falling, expenses are skyrocketing, by
adding additional regulatory efforts, it's too much," EPP MEP Anne Sander
said.

She also accused the commission of ignoring the sector's warnings for years.

Farmers are a "very important electorate", said EU lawmaker and vice-
president of the parliament's socialist grouping, Pedro Marques.

"There's a perception that the centre-right and the far-right are trying to
create in the farmers that the green transition, those that choose the green
transition, are going against them," he said.

But he recognised the need to provide support, especially as the EU prepares
to debate its ambitious 2040 climate targets, which will involve a costly
decarbonisation of the agricultural industry.

Agriculture makes up 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.