Provided they get the commitments the government is making in writing
France is moving towards the de-escalation of the agricultural crisis.
The representatives of the main farmers' unions, after the latest government announcements, announced their intention to suspend their mobilizations on the condition that they receive in writing the commitments made by the government.
According to the representatives of the unions, the government's announcements are generally considered satisfactory, although, as they mentioned, there are still points that should be clarified.
More specifically, two of the four unions are calling for the blockades to be suspended. The union FNSEA which is the largest as well as the JA call for the farmers to suspend the blockades, with the main slogan "the movement does not stop but changes". The unions claim that there is "concrete progress" and that they will otherwise continue the mobilization until the Paris Agricultural Fair which is the most important of the sector.
The Ecophyto project which aims to reduce the use of pesticides will be suspended until it is simplified and another indicator is found. At the same time, there will be a ban on the import of agricultural products sprayed with the insecticide thiacloprid, a substance allowed in Europe but not in France.
At the next European Commission session, France will propose the creation of a European coordinating audit force to fight health fraud throughout the 27 territory in coordination with the audit authorities of each country, in order to create homogeneous conditions throughout the EU.
Meanwhile, a "safeguard clause" against Ukrainian products is already being studied. From this year and over time, 150 million euros will be given in order to provide tax and social relief to livestock farmers who have specific needs.
Next, there will be a massive audit of supermarket chains and the food industry that circumvent the Fair Farmers' Remuneration Act with the help of central procurement/purchasing agencies across borders or from European level markets. The 2018 law applies to every product sold in France, regardless of its origin. In fact, supermarket chains from all over Europe are teaming up to strengthen their power, placing gigantic orders with producers forcing them to squeeze prices. A typical example: it is Carrefour that is about to form an alliance with Sclavenitis, so that they order together tons of fruits and vegetables, resulting in an economy of scale, but ultimately harming the farmers.
In addition, the labels are misleading, for example, a package of biscuits is listed as made in France but the ingredients come from another country. Already 10,000 checks are being launched on food industries with fines of up to 10% of distributors' turnover if they circumvent this law.
Regarding pensions, the proposals submitted regarding the 25 best accrued years will be studied, in the context of the retirement of farmers. In addition, there will be tax exemptions for the sale of the farm business to young professionals as well as inheritance tax relief to preserve the farm business from generation to generation. The Prime Minister recognizes that the cost of the measures is very important but considers that it is above all an investment.
Source: KYPE, ertnews.gr