This was reported by Euractiv.
Florin Barbu, the Minister of Agriculture, announced that the agreement with the farmers covers 13 demands. Discussions will continue to find a compromise on the remaining unmet requests.
Specifically, the government committed to fully subsidize all agricultural excise duties until 2026 and immediately implement provisions for subsidized interest-rate loans.
The agreement was signed after more than three hours of negotiations. However, this does not mean an immediate end to the protest, as future negotiations with carriers, lasting until Thursday, may affect their duration, said Marius Miku, one of the farmers’ representatives in the talks.
The farmers’ representative added that it is important for the government to grant permission to deviate from mandatory crop rotation rules and 4% set-aside land by January 31 in each farm.
It is noted that the government has adopted measures regarding compensation for losses caused by imports from Ukraine. The measures include clear labeling of grain and other goods, as well as electronic monitoring of seals using GPS at the Constanta port.
The Minister of Agriculture denies that Romania is demanding the imposition of taxes on the import of grain from Ukraine.
Recall that on January 15, Romanian farmers again blocked the border with Ukraine at the “Siret” and “Vicovu de Sus – Krasnoilsk” checkpoints.
Polish farmers also blocked the border with Ukraine, demanding subsidies for the purchase of corn and leaving agricultural tax unchanged. On January 6, 2024, the Polish government signed an agreement with them, after which they unblocked the “Medyka – Shehyni” checkpoint, but queues remained there.
Since November 6, 2023, the border checkpoints for trucks, “Korchova – Krakovets”, “Hrebenne – Rava-Ruska”, and “Dorohusk – Yahodyn”, have remained partially blocked. They are blocked by Polish carriers.