The head of the German farmers' union called for strikes throughout the country from January 8

"The German government is committed to raising taxes. There can only be one answer to this. We continue," Joachim Rukwid said in a video message posted on the farmers' union page on the social network X (formerly Twitter). “We will start a week of demonstrations on January 8. We will hold protests throughout Germany,” he emphasized.

The head of the German Farmers' Union called on the country's authorities to abandon plans to raise taxes. The culmination of the week of protests should be a mass rally in Berlin, which is planned for January 15. At the same time, Joachim Rukwid called on representatives of other professions to join the farmers' demonstrations.

On December 18, farmers held a protest in the center of Berlin - hundreds of tractors parked one after another for several kilometers - from the Brandenburg Gate along the street on June 17. The action was coordinated with the authorities of the capital of Germany; according to the Berlin police, about 3 thousand people took part in it, and “several hundred” pieces of agricultural equipment were involved.

The German government was previously forced to look for budget savings for the next year. This became necessary after the verdict of the Federal Constitutional Court, which prohibited spending 60 billion euros from the budget. A number of savings have affected farmers, who will lose discounts on diesel and tax breaks next year. According to estimates by the German Ministry of Finance, this measure will help save the budget 480 million euros annually.

On the political plane, the situation threatens potential disagreements between the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Cem Ozdemir, and the head of the Ministry of Finance, Christian Lindner. Ozdemir has already called several times to prevent unnecessary burden on farmers and called on his government colleague to find alternative measures to save budget funds.