FEATURE
Elsewhere , France24 reported that more than 300 vehicles gathered in protest near Milan , Italy last week . Meanwhile , a small group of farmers protested in Portugal on 1 February , Reuters reported .
Farmers in Spain are preparing to take to the streets later this month . Similar plans are underway in Slovakia , where separate protests are ongoing against plans to close the country ’ s special prosecutor ’ s office .
Far right taking note
This year will see major elections across the globe .
EU citizens will elect new members of the European parliament in June and recent polling has suggested that there could be a “ sharp turn to the right ” in the results , Deutsche Welle reported .
Figure 6 . Romanian farmers and transporters protested in Ilfov , Romania on 15 January 2024 . Credit : MARIUS BURCEA / Alamy Stock Photo
As these protests continue , Politico said that right-wing parties in several European countries – such as France , Italy , the Netherlands and Germany – are “ piggybacking on farmers ’ noisy outrage ”.
Dr Gilles Ivaldi , a politics researcher at Sciences Po who has examined the far right in Europe , says that right-wing groups may use the farmer protests to “ boost their electoral support ”. He tells Carbon Brief :
“ What we see , particularly in France , is that the far right is seeking to capitalise on public discontent with the impact of the green transition , not only among farmers but also in social groups affected most by the economic cost of environmental policies .”
Figure 7 . Farmers protested outside the European parliament building in Brussels , Belgium on 1 February . Credit : ANP / Alamy Stock Photo
“ can ’ t compete ” with the price of these imports .
Some in Romania also took issue with “ disruptions caused by Ukrainian grain imports ”, Politico said , noting that “ Russia ' s blockade of Ukraine ' s Black Sea ports has made Romania a key transit hub for Ukrainian grain .”
In response to the protests , the Romanian government announced extra farmer funding and fuel subsidies on 26 January , according to Radio Romania International .
Last week , the European Commission proposed extending its free trade deal with Ukraine until June 2025 , but with a new measure to prevent too many Ukrainian agricultural products being sold in EU states , Euronews reported .
Other EU countries
Farmer protests remain ongoing in Lithuania and Poland over similar concerns , many of which are outlined in the above interactive table .
In Ireland , protests began on 1 February in “ solidarity ” with other farmers , RTÉ reported . The president of the Irish Farmers Association , Francie Gorman , said there is “ mounting frustration about the impact of EU policy ”.
He says that in France ’ s case , the far right is “ clearly trying to instrumentalise ” the farmer protests to “ mobilise against the government and the EU ”. Sky News reported that the protests “ are being seized upon by various groups ”, including Marine Le Pen ’ s right-wing Rassemblement National party .
But Ivaldi notes that the far right ’ s EU election focus will mostly remain on topics such as immigration , the economy , the future of the EU and the bloc ’ s Green Deal . The “ main factors ” behind a potential right-wing surge will not come from agriculture alone . He adds :
“ Far-right parties are currently capitalising on the economic crisis and rise in prices , on the immigration issue , particularly growing concerns about the massive influx of refugees in Germany and , more broadly , the many anxieties caused by the war in Ukraine and geopolitical instability .”
Grassroots Vol 24 No 1 March 2024 08