Farmer organizations are saying....starting 8 January 2024....unless the coalition gov't fixes the diesel subsidy issue....they will block traffic around the nation.
What the issue is about?
There was a promised budget item in the 2021 'extra' budget (the one that started out as Covid-aid)....to cover the rising cost of diesel fuel...for farmers.
About six weeks ago, when the Constitutional Court finally settled the challenged Covid-aid budget....they said you could use the money ONLY for Covid-related issues, and not these 100-odd 'gift-promises' of the SPD-Green-FDP gov't coalition. So the diesel subsidy disappeared.
As the new 2024 budget was crafted and finalized in the past 10 days....no diesel subsidy appear. So they (the farmers) were screwed.
Pretty serious threats? This past week, they blocked off an autobahn near Stuttgart. This involved around 2,000 tractors.
A big deal? Budget-wise, there are dozens of groups who were screwed over with the lost Covid-aid budget chopped up. I doubt that the farmers will be the only group in some process of demonstrating.
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