The Greek government is urging protesting farmers to appoint an official delegation for talks — yet refuses to clarify whether Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet them. Meanwhile, even lawmakers from New Democracy (ND), the governing party, are revolting over the administration’s handling of the deepening agricultural crisis.
Producers remain at the roadblocks they have set up across the country, threatening to escalate with further shutdowns of highways, ports, airports and border crossings.
“Brutal criticism” from within New Democracy
For more than four and a half hours on Wednesday afternoon, the political leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development was bombarded with harsh criticism from dozens of ND MPs.
At the party’s central headquarters on Piraeus Street, they conveyed the bleak mood dominating their constituencies — and the anger they themselves face — over reduced subsidy payments, many of which have also been significantly delayed.
Government officials insist that this year’s payments to “honest producers” will be higher than in previous years. But farmers reject these claims — and, as became clear during an explosive briefing session with Minister Kostas Tsiaras, so do many ND MPs.
Beyond late payments, MPs lashed out at the government’s lack of strategy for defusing the crisis. Senior party sources say the same criticism is expected to erupt again during Friday’s meeting of the parliamentary group, coinciding with the start of the five-day debate on the state budget in Parliament.
How much has been paid — and what is still pending
Following a meeting earlier on Wednesday in the prime minister’s office, the government announced that since the beginning of the year, €2.6 billion in subsidies have been paid to farmers and livestock producers, with another €1.2 billion scheduled by the end of December.
According to the announcement:
- This week, 147,803 farmers received €204.25 million under “Measure 23,” which applies to those affected by natural disasters and to native livestock breeds.
- On Thursday, €28.78 million was deposited into the accounts of 15,309 beneficiaries for 2024 organic livestock farming and beekeeping.
During the closed-door briefing at ND headquarters — held after six ND MPs filed a formal protest demanding unpaid dues be settled — government officials clarified that only land plots matching the owners’ E9 property declarations will be paid by December 29. Any amount corresponding to disputed or mismatched acreage will remain frozen.
Government calls for talks — but refuses to say with whom
Despite publicly insisting it wants dialogue, the government has taken no initiative to invite farm representatives to the Maximos Mansion. This wavering stance is inflaming tensions at the roadblocks, where confrontations with police are becoming increasingly frequent.
Government sources say:
“As soon as the farmers appoint a delegation, a meeting will take place.”
But they pointedly avoid specifying at what level — and whether the prime minister will be involved.
“As soon as we have a formal delegation, as the prime minister said a few days ago, we will provide concrete answers to their demands. Who they will meet will be announced once the delegation is formed,” officials stated.
But judging by the atmosphere conveyed by ND MPs, there appears to be only one exit valve capable of easing the crisis:
a direct meeting between the farmers and the prime minister himself.
