Greece extends tax return on agricultural diesel as farmers protest
Greece will extend a special tax return on agricultural diesel by a year, to support protesting farmers who demand lower energy costs and fast compensation for crops and livestock lost in destructive flooding, its prime minister said on Friday.
Speaking in Parliament in response to a question from Alexis Haritsis, chairman of the New Left parliamentary group, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the measure would cost the state 82 million euros ($89.31 million) in 2024.
He said that the measure was being introduced “in consultation with the Finance Ministry and because our economy is doing well.”
Mitsotakis further said that the Public Power Corporation (PPC) will extend an additional 10 percent discount on electricity supply for agricultural activities during the period from May to September.
On Tuesday, the prime minister offered to speed up financial aid to the affected farmers in a bid to stave off the protests. But on Thursday, some 300 tractors gathered at the annual agricultural fair in the center of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, to express their grievances. They mainly came from Thessaly, the key agricultural region devastated by floods last year.
“We have already allocated 40 million euros in first aid,” Mitsotakis told Parliament on Friday, adding that one in seven farmers has submitted an application.
“Show me one Thessaly [farmer] who qualifies and has not received compensation,” he said, adding that the state will spend in total 3.3 billion euros over the coming years to repair damage in Thessaly.
“We aim to be quick, but we will not give out free money without proper supporting documents,” he said.
[Combined reports]
