Czech farmers demand EU subsidies to cover losses
Farmers in the Czech Republic are demanding CZK5 billion ($1.6 billion) from the EU to cover losses caused by falling prices this year. They have threatened direct protest, including blocking roads, if their demands are not met.
Chief Czech negotiator at the EU, Pavel Telicka, said that if the EU insists on the conditions it has so far offered in the agriculture chapter, and which Czech farmers have vigorously rejected, the legitimacy of the Czech Republic joining the EU should be questioned.
However, Telicka also said he is convinced that a compromise can be found. The chair of the Czech Union of Czech Agricultural and Food Production Workers, Bohumir Dufek, said that the minimum demands of Czech farmers are for direct payments of at least 50% of those paid to farmers in current member states and the maintenance of the current extent of production.
