By Penelope Galliou

Positions ahead of their meeting tomorrow, at 12 noon, are taken by the government and farmers, trying to find the golden ratio between the possibilities of the first and the requests of the second.

A multifactorial equation even for strong solvers, as the farmers insist on escalating their mobilizations if they do not secure “more” as they say from the government, while the Maximos Palace and Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself declare that they are open to good faith dialogue but the possibilities are not they are inexhaustible.

“In any case it is a priority for us to support the competitiveness of the primary sector and agricultural income. And so we will scrape the bottom of the barrel to reduce the cost factors of agricultural and livestock production” the prime minister clarified in his regular weekly post, two twenty-four hours before the four-four with the 15-member committee that will represent his farmers in the Maximos Palace.

Tomorrow’s talks between the two sides will be held under the condition of open roads, with the Prime Minister himself having underlined the government’s red line”On Tuesday at noon I will meet with their representatives and of course on the condition that the roads will be open. The free passage of citizens anywhere in the country cannot be hindered” remarked Kyriakos Mitsotakis, emphasizing that the call for dialogue and understanding has clear limits.

And these limits, in addition to the open roads, also include respect for the fiscal stability of the country, without exceptions, but the fair distribution of economic development, which, as the prime minister noted, “it is a necessary condition for maintaining social cohesion“.

At every opportunity, government officials assure that the government will continue to support the primary sector as it has done for the last 4.5 years with a series of interventions at the national and European level, events that the prime minister will recall and analyze during the meeting of with the farmers’ representatives, clarifying, however, that this cannot be done by risking the fiscal balance of the country.

In any case, the government’s main argument against the rural mobilizations remains the return of the excise duty (EFFK) on agricultural oil, amounting to 82 million euros, which according to information is expected to be paid in installments and not in one go, with the possibility the first of these to be done as soon as possible, to strengthen the liquidity of farmers.

The same sources leave open the possibility that Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce an additional intervention for the affected farmers and breeders of Thessaly, which will also be related to energy costs, without ruling out that this intervention will involve an additional reduction in the price of electricity per kilowatt hour. A measure which, according to information, will not burden the state budget but will be covered by sources already identified by the government’s financial staff.

In addition to the immediate and fire-fighting measures that are expected to be taken in the near future, the government’s planning for the primary sector also includes medium-to-long-term solutions, as Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed in his statement to Sunday’s Realnews and they concern amendments to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) so that the green transition is smoother for the rural world. The planning also considers additional tools to combat illegal Greekization, as well as the acceleration of important infrastructure projects that will improve the daily life of farmers.

However, according to government sources, the prime minister is said to be ready to commit to the farmers and for additional support measures if the consistent execution of the budget allows, but this is timed, from September onwards and if the needs of the farmers are weighed against the needs and other social groups and professional branches that raise claims and demands.

What is certain is that the government is coming to tomorrow’s dialogue with a sincere desire for a solution, declaring that it believes in open dialogue with open roads, and announcing to the farmers’ blocs that “If they follow a moderate line like the government is following, we will be able to find a result“.