Farmers in Germany are set to move ahead with a large scale demonstration in the capital Berlin on Monday (January 15), following a week of protests in various cities this week.
The week of action was in response to plans by the government to fill a gap in public finances through a number of measures, which include ending tax reliefs for farmers on agricultural diesel and vehicle tax for machinery.
Protests originally took place in December and were renewed on Monday of this week after the Christmas period, and have been taking place each day since, despite the government partially climbing down from the proposed measures.
From the outset, the aim of the week of action was for protesting farmers across the country to assemble at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, one of Germany’s most recognisable landmarks, on Monday of next week.
The protests were led by the DBV, Germany’s largest farmer organisation. Farmer organisations from the various states of Germany also took part, along with groups representing hauliers, who are also impacted by some of the government’s budgetary measures.
In a statement today, the DBV said: “After the nationwide week of action, agriculture and the transport industry are jointly calling for a large demonstration and rally on January 15, 2024…at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
“The aim is to make it clear to politicians once again what it means to put the competitiveness and existence of farmers and medium-sized transport companies at risk,” the farmer group added.
“For competitive agriculture, support for agricultural diesel and vehicle tax exemption are essential. The DBV, together with the state farmers’ associations…is therefore calling for the federal government’s planned tax increases for agriculture to be withdrawn,” the statement said.
The DBV said it stands for “a clear but peaceful and democratic protest”, and called on its members to demonstrate peacefully.
The farmer association is also planning to livestream Monday’s protest via YouTube.