Health minister attacks farmers’ blockades, says subsidies should be abolished

Speaking on the radio station Parapolitika, Georgiadis said he did not view the blockades as actions by producers struggling for survival, but as conduct he characterised as unacceptable. He stated that he believed the protests would soon end and that the situation would move on.

He described the blockades as illegal and said that prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had shown considerable tolerance. Georgiadis said he expected the issue to be resolved following a forthcoming meeting between the prime minister and representatives of the farmers.

Georgiadis repeated claims that there are political motives behind the agricultural protests. He also criticised actions by farmers during a previous meeting with the prime minister, referring to damage to tractors, and said there was no longer social tolerance for road closures.

Referring to the handling of the blockades, Georgiadis said the state did not need to use physical force, but should apply the law concerning obstruction of transport. He added that, in his view, the legal framework had been in place from the beginning, but that the prime minister had chosen to act with restraint.

In the same interview, Georgiadis argued that agricultural subsidies should be abolished entirely. He described the European system of subsidies as problematic, saying it encourages producers to focus on securing subsidies rather than developing competitive products.

‘The source of the problem is the subsidies themselves. All subsidies should be cut. There should be no subsidy at all because a subsidy turns you towards convenience, towards thinking about how you will get the subsidy, not how you will make a competitive product,’ he said.

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