Greek farmers have clashed with the police – and their animals are being slaughtered.
Now the Greek salad runs the risk of losing its most important ingredient.
But by the summer everything will be resolved.
These days, Greece is far from a sunny postcard in the picturesque world of Mamma Mia.
For weeks, major and important highways have been blocked. Long lines of brightly colored tractors effectively stop all traffic from passing.
Border crossings and ports have been temporarily closed – and in Crete, angry farmers took to the runway of one of the airports and stopped flights.
Thousands of farmers across Greece have been preparing for a long conflict. Warming fires have been lit, makeshift field kitchens offer refreshments and pop-up tents provide protection from the weather.
There is an extensive history of protests by Greek farmers.
This time the protests concern non-appearance or delayed contributions totaling just over 600 million euros.
An extensive tangle of subsidy fraud among farmers has caused both the Greek authorities and the EU to carry out careful reviews before any payments can be made.
There are a number of Greek farmers who have been found to be cheating with both the area of their farmland and the number of animals they have in their possession, in order to get larger EU subsidies. To help them in their cheating, they have had less accurate but more corrupt Greek officials.
When the cheating was discovered, both the EU and Greek authorities pulled the handbrake. All cheating and all corruption must be thoroughly investigated before there can be talk of payments again.
Now the farmers believe that they are being collectively punished and that honest farmers may be forced to shut down their business if the subsidies are not paid out quickly.
On Saturday, representatives of the various farmer blockades will meet to decide on the continued protests.
As if the late contributions were not enough, Greek lamb and sheep farmers have also been hit by a widespread outbreak of lambpox.
Thessaloniki airport in northern Greece on December 5.” sizes=”(min-width: 1300px) 662px, (min-width: 1180px) 50vw, (min-width: 768px) 65vw, 100vw” loading=”eager” fetchpriority=”high” style=”aspect-ratio:1900 / 1266″/>Hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats have been slaughtered and breeders are warning of a widespread shortage of feta cheese in the first half of next year.
The lack of Greece’s “white gold”, as it is called, means extensive financial losses for the breeders. Last year, feta cheese was exported for 785 million euros. For many, it is also an emotional pain when the animals you have devoted your life to raising suddenly have to be euthanized.
Greece and its farmers are heading for a tough Christmas.
But Swedish fans of Greece, sun worshipers and those who tell themselves that they are probably half-Greek can breathe a sigh of relief. Even if there is a protracted conflict, it should be resolved before the summer. Neither the farmers nor the authorities can afford to lose the gold mine that tourists represent.
For tourists and Greeks alike, however, there may be other cause for concern. Which cannot be stopped with tractors.
Climate change.
But who wants to think about it between salty dips, sun kisses and sipping drinks.
