The protest has many souls, the movement is divided (and every European country has its own demands, as Claudio Del Frate’s article explains), but there are some demands that the tractor people have in common. From fuel to European initiatives for the green transition.
1 How much does diesel cost?
Italian farmers have been complaining about the high costs of diesel for some time, even before 2026 arrives, when the subsidies that currently exist across the EU should cease. Today a liter of diesel is paid up to 1.30 euros. A price considered higher even than their French and German colleagues. “It’s true that they took away the relief, but despite having the benefits we pay more, between 1.10 and 1.30 euros compared to the 1 euro you pay in France.”
2 What does the CAP require?
Farmers contest the obligation, foreseen by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to keep 4% of their land fallow as a condition for accessing community contributions. In 2023 there was an exemption from the obligation and now the EU Commission is proposing a further exemption also for 2024. But it is not enough for farmers.
3 Prices to producers?
Another issue is “the enormous gap” that exists between what is paid to producers and the price of the product sold at retail. Many examples have been given in recent days to the various principals throughout Italy. Milk: farmers are paid 52 cents per litre, while at the supermarket counter you pay up to 2.30 and even 3 euros. A kilo of radicchio is paid 30-40 cents and also sold for 3 euros. «We want fair remuneration also to maintain the quality of the Italian product that everyone prides itself on». For farmers, European legislation would be needed to protect value along the entire supply chain.
4 Irpef exemption?
Farmers contest that the benefits for the agricultural sector were not extended in the 2024 budget law. Agricultural incomes therefore return to ordinary taxation.
5 What is the Green deal?.
The EU’s green objectives are contested as “too stringent” and “unrealistic”.
Among the many targets of the Green Deal is the reduction in the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030. Then there are other directives to drastically reduce harmful emissions in the livestock sector which, however, «require significant unsustainable investments for many companies agricultural companies, already heavily indebted and penalized by the banking system”. Not to mention the impact on competition. «In the face of all these constraints, Italy then brings in products at rock-bottom prices from countries where there is an abnormal use of pesticides and which are often in the hands of European multinationals» accuses the tractor people