Agriculture - Schwesig wants the subsidy cuts for farmers to be reversed
The Minister President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), has clearly rejected the Federal Government's austerity plans at the expense of farmers and called for the implementation of existing alternatives. "The federal government's plans are wrong and a sign of a lack of respect for agriculture," Schwesig told the German Press Agency in Schwerin. The background to this is the federal government's plans to remove tax concessions for farmers with regard to agricultural diesel and vehicle tax in order to plug holes in the budget.
Farmers work 365 days a year to ensure that people in Germany have good food and good drinks on their tables. "We should value that," warned the Schwerin head of government. Agriculture is systemically relevant for supplying the population and the subsidies also serve to stabilize food prices. "Our goal must be to ensure that food is affordable for everyone. Our agricultural businesses must remain competitive," demanded Schwesig.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister of Agriculture, Till Backhaus (SPD), had developed constructive proposals on how the federal government could achieve the necessary savings while continuing to ease the burden on farmers. In the paper passed on to the federal government by Schwesig and made available to dpa, it is proposed, among other things, that the company car privilege for hybrid vehicles be abolished and that the funds earmarked by the federal government to improve animal welfare in pig farming be canceled. Furthermore, there should no longer be double funding from the federal and state governments. By gradually reducing the tax relief for agricultural diesel, the switch to tax-free biofuels and electricity is to be accelerated.
"I could also imagine that the package from the Growth Opportunities Act will be smaller. Before new support measures are adopted, systemically relevant sectors such as agriculture and the food industry should first be stabilized," emphasized Schwesig.
"I am convinced that all measures in combination will relieve the federal budget significantly more than the injustices planned so far," Backhaus explained before consultations with his counterparts, to whom he explained his plans on Friday. In his opinion, the farmers' protest is understandable and justified. The federal government would have to save 17 billion euros and one billion was to come from agriculture alone. "That is excessive and unfair," said Backhaus.
In Berlin at the beginning of last week, thousands of farmers vented their anger with protests and a long line of tractors. Farmers' President Joachim Rukwied called on the coalition government to withdraw the plans to cut agricultural diesel and vehicle tax.
The Federal Environment Agency, meanwhile, believes it is right that farmers should no longer receive preferential treatment for diesel in future. "We must no longer incentivize in the wrong direction," said the president of the agency, Dirk Messner, to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). The use of fossil fuels should therefore no longer be favored.
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- Manuela Schwesig, the SPD’s Minister President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, advocates for the reversal of subsidy cuts for farmers, viewing the Federal Government's austerity plans as detrimental to agriculture and disrespectful.
- Till Backhaus, the SPD’s Agriculture Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has proposed ways for the Federal Government to achieve savings while lessening the burden on farmers, including scrapping company car privileges for hybrid vehicles and canceling animal welfare improvements funds for pig farming.
- Schwesig, in her stance, suggests that the future federal budget could be significantly relieved through these measures and the gradual reduction of tax relief for agricultural diesel, thereby incentivizing the switch to tax-free biofuels and electricity.
- The farmers' protests and tractor line in Berlin last week were in response to the Federal Government's plans to cut agricultural diesel and vehicle tax, with Farmers' President Joachim Rukwied urging the coalition government to reconsider its plans.
- The Federal Environment Agency agrees that farmers should no longer receive preferential treatment for diesel in the future, as Dirk Messner, the agency’s president, believes that continued support for fossil fuels is no longer conducive to promoting environmentally-friendly energy sources.
- The SPD government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and its agriculture ministers, including Schwinig and Backhaus, are actively working to ensure affordable food prices and maintain the competitiveness of the regional agricultural businesses within Germany.
- The German Press Agency reported that these measures and negotiations between federal and state governments could potentially lead to substantial reductions in the federal budget, potentially altering the future course of agricultural subsidies and support in Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
