Month: January 2024

Paris — The European Commission is due on Thursday to begin “strategic” talks with farmers’ federations, agri-business firms, NGOs and experts on ways to assuage the ire on farms in several countries.

On the agenda are key issues including farming incomes, sustainable agricultural practices, technological innovations and competitiveness, which will be discussed in advance by the European Union’s agriculture ministers at their meeting Tuesday in Brussels.

The initiative was not confirmed until late last week, even though Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had promised in September to start discussions, insisting that farming and environmental protection were not mutually exclusive.

Here is a look at some of the grievances that have sparked discontent in various parts of the 27-nation bloc ahead of this year’s European Parliament elections.

The Netherlands

Grumblings in the Dutch farming sector bubbled to the surface in June 2022, when the government unveiled plans to cut nitrogen emissions by reducing the country’s herd of 4 million cows by nearly a third, and possibly close some farms.

Farmers said the move would ruin their livelihoods.

Nitrogen compounds produced by manure and fertilizer used in farming can contribute to climate change and harm natural habitats.

The move followed a 2019 Dutch court ruling that the government was not doing enough on nitrogen, and that key house building and road projects that also produced the chemical would be on hold until it did.

But farmers in the country of 18 million, which is the world’s second-largest food exporter after the United States, reacted furiously, dumping manure and rubbish on roads and blocking supermarket warehouses.

Their protests drew support from populists abroad, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed the Dutch farmers were fighting “climate tyranny.”

Months of demonstrations triggered a wave of support at the ballot box for the recently founded BBB farmers’ party, which made a significant breakthrough in Senate elections in March 2023.

It was less successful than predicted in the general election in November last year but continues to attract support from a rural community that feels urban elites in The Hague, Amsterdam and Brussels do not understand its concerns.

Poland and Romania

In recent months, there has also been an increase in exasperation in the east of the EU, namely in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, where food producers have complained of unfair competition from cut-price cereals from Ukraine, which is not part of the bloc.

After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and blocked Ukraine from using the Black Sea to export its goods, the EU suspended customs duties on imports from Ukraine and set up corridors so Kyiv could transit its grains through the EU to world markets.

But because of logistical issues, the grain started piling up in EU countries and driving down local prices.

Tractor-riding farmers in Bulgaria and Romania jammed border crossings with Ukraine, and in Poland the anger triggered the resignation of the agriculture minister in April 2023.

That did little to calm tempers, and in November, Polish farmers and lorry drivers started blockading roads from Ukraine.

Farmers suspended their protest on January 6 after the government agreed to provide subsidies.

In Romania, the rural sector staged new demonstrations on January 14 over what they said were excessively high levies.

The customs exemptions granted to Ukrainian exporters expire in June, so the European Commission will need to tell EU farmers fairly soon whether it intends to prolong them or not.

Germany

In Germany, farmers have been up in arms since early January over a government plan to roll back tax breaks on fuel for agricultural machinery and other subsidies.

On January 8, they launched a week of nationwide rallies, blocking several city centers and major road arteries with hordes of noisy tractors, and have vowed to push on with their demands.

The coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to stagger the cuts between now and January 2026 and reduce red tape.

But it may feel unable to offer more concessions, after a court ruling forced the government to find savings in the 2024 budget.

France

Farmers in France are also cross about increases in production costs and environmental regulations.

In the autumn, they turned signposts upside down to show the world itself was “upside down.”

Since Thursday they have been blockading motorways in the southwest and rallying at roundabouts.

The powerful farming union FNSEA is planning other forms of protest, after a meeting with newly installed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough.

Further afield

In former EU member Britain, fruit and vegetable farmers planted 49 scarecrows outside parliament on Monday to represent the 49% of farmers who say they are on the brink of leaving the industry due to “unfair” treatment by the country’s powerful supermarket chains.

Supermarkets are “bringing British farming to its knees,” Guy Singh-Watson, founder of the fruit and vegetable box delivery firm Riverford Organic, told AFP, adding that government policies failed to adequately support the sector and were rarely enforced.

And there are predictions the rural unrest could spread to other parts of the EU, too.

“There is talk of protest in Italy and Spain,” said Christiane Lambert, head of Europe’s leading farmers’ union, the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organizations (COPA).
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is due to visit Turkey on January 24 for a summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the Israel-Hamas war topping the agenda. The two leaders have been vocal in their support for Hamas, but rivalries remain as Tehran and Ankara compete for influence in the Caucasus and Syria. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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School volunteers in the Kyiv region of Ukraine constructed a bomb shelter resembling a house straight out of “The Hobbit” films. The school had been destroyed at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. After the volunteers rebuilt it, they added the whimsical shelter for the students. Lesia Bakalets has the story from Kyiv. Videographer: Evgenii Shynkar
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The Ukrainian 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade have been using Ukrainian equipment to take out Russian armored vehicles since the start of the war. Anna Kosstutschenko talked with some of the veteran fighters. (Camera and Produced by: Pavel Suhodolskiy)
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london — Two motorists were killed, tens of thousands of people were left without electricity and hundreds of trains were canceled Monday after the latest winter storm lashed Britain and Ireland with heavy rain and wind gusts that topped 100 mph (160 kph).

The storm littered roads and railways with downed trees that created deadly hazards and blocked travel, disrupting morning commutes. On Sunday night, an 84-year-old male passenger in a car in Scotland and a van driver in his 60s in Northern Ireland were killed when their vehicles struck toppled trees.

The U.K.’s Met Office weather service had issued an unusual wind warning for the whole country before Storm Isha, which peaked overnight after exceeding forecasts for 90 mph (145 kph) gusts.

The Tay Road Bridge, a 1.4-mile (2.2-kilometer) span over the River Tay estuary in Scotland, recorded a 107 mph (172 kph) gust, it announced on social media. A 99-mph (159-kph) gust was recorded at Brizlee Wood radar station in northeastern England, the weather service said.

Ireland and the U.K. have been hammered since fall by gusty, wet storms that have knocked out power and caused flooding along river valleys. Isha is the ninth named storm since September and a 10th, named Jocelyn by the Irish forecaster Met Eireann, is due to bring more wind and rain Tuesday and Wednesday.

The railway operator for Scotland halted train service Sunday night, and service was disrupted through most of Monday morning. Network Rail, which owns the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales, placed speed limits on most lines to prevent engines from running into debris, leading to delays.

Several major roads in Scotland and northern England were shut because of high winds, downed trees or overturned trucks. Chief Superintendent Davy Beck of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said many roads there remained impassable Monday morning.

In County Antrim in Northern Ireland, three trees were blown down at Dark Hedges, a roadway lined with majestic beeches that became a popular tourist destination after being featured as Kingsroad in the TV series “Game of Thrones.”

The trees are said to be about 250 years old and are approaching the end of their typical life span. Several have been toppled by other storms.

“This is another blow to the Dark Hedges,” said Mervyn Storey, chair of the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust. “In fact, one of the trees that was healthy has been blown down. It is very sad.”

In North Yorkshire in northern England, firefighters rescued several people trapped in flooded vehicles.

“It was definitely a terrifying experience at the time,” Charlie Curry told ITV news after her rescue in Morton-on-Swale.

In Huddersfield outside Leeds in Northern England, an Alpaca shed was blown into the road, the local council warned on X, formerly Twitter.

Planes bound for several airports were diverted, including flights bound for Dublin that ended up in France.

Power was being restored throughout Monday. At one point, about 230,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in Ireland, and 40,000 lacked power in neighboring Northern Ireland.
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Phnom Penh, Cambodia — France and Cambodia have signed a $235 million aid agreement for drinking water and energy infrastructure development, as well as vocational training.

The deal is part of a move to boost bilateral relations between the two countries, which have maintained a postcolonial dialogue since Cambodia became independent in 1953.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace and announced the pact last week. It was the West Point graduate’s first official visit to a Western power since succeeding his father, Hun Sen, in August.  

“Cambodia will always remember France’s role in contributing to national economic recovery and development through the French Development Agency,” Hun Manet said at a press conference alongside Macron. 

“I hope that my visit to France, especially with the president, will enable us to discuss the work that needs to further strengthen Cambodia-France relations,” Hun Manet said Thursday. 

The meeting with Macron came just months after France joined other European Union countries in expressing concern about July’s election, in which Cambodia’s main opposition party was barred from participating.

After July’s elections, in which the ruling Cambodian People’s Party won all but five seats in parliament, France called for the release of jailed opposition politicians and respect for Cambodia’s democratic obligations under international pacts and domestic law.  

Former Prime Minister Hun Sen was the ruling party’s prime minister candidate in the election but quickly stepped down to make way for his son in a long-planned succession. Hun Sen remains the president of the ruling party and is expected to be the president of the Senate after elections in late February. 

Hun Manet’s first trip after succeeding his father in August was to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People. Cambodia has long supported China in return for receiving significant investments, loans and grants to build infrastructure, according to analysts.

Cambodia’s democratic donors have largely set aside differences over political freedom and human rights to focus on areas of cooperation with the new government in Phnom Penh.  

During the visit, Macron reiterated France’s appreciation of Cambodia’s position at the United Nations regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to the joint statement. 

Cambodia has repeatedly voted with Ukraine’s supporters in condemning Russia’s invasion, in a rare break with China on the world stage.  

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who is in exile in France, criticized Macron in a post on Facebook and an opinion article in The Geopolitics for legitimizing Hun Manet’s rule.

“Macron has clearly made the calculation that it is better to engage with dictators rather than deny them legitimacy,” he wrote.  

“There is no sign that Macron, along with some other Western leaders, fully understands the unseen impacts of affording high-profile acceptance and credibility to dictators such as Hun Manet,” Sam Rainsy added.  “An official visit to a venue such as the Elysee is a major propaganda coup for any such regime. It gives an unequivocal message to the Cambodian regime and the Cambodian people that arrests of and violence against opposition supporters can continue.” 

Sok Eysan, a spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, told VOA Khmer on Friday that the visit showed that the Cambodian government and its new prime minister were recognized by the world’s leaders and other officials. 

Before traveling to France, Manet also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While there, he met with Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

In a post on X, Power said they discussed “opportunities to build a more productive relationship.” 

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Asia, criticized Power’s approach:

“How about talking about human rights, Samantha? #Cambodia has descended into a single party dictatorship under the Hun family and you want a ‘more productive’ relationship? Aiya! How about some sanctions instead?” 
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