Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government "will not give in to blackmail" by farmers protesting against delayed EU subsidy payments and rising production costs, and renewed his call for negotiations.
The comment came as farmers continued to block major highways across the country and authorities imposed detours. Some groups of farmers announced that they would unblock the highways from Tuesday to Friday (December 23 to 26) to facilitate Christmas travel, before reassessing their actions before the New Year, Kathimerini reported.
"The time has come for shared responsibility to society," Mitsotakis said at a cabinet meeting, addressing the farmers.
"Our fellow citizens should not suffer or risk becoming victims of road accidents. The traffic police will have the final say," he said.
Mitsotakis invited the farmers to a meeting to discuss their demands, but to no avail.
"To those who prefer the paradox of making demands and not coming to the dialogue, we respond that the government will not give in to blackmail. We will not discriminate against one social group in favor of others," the prime minister added, acknowledging that many of the farmers' demands are fair. | BGNES