Farmers Protest at EU Subsidy Cuts

Source from:  tr.itsmyiq.com Apr 18, 2008 04/21/2008

Greek tobacco growers marched to a rally in Athens yesterday to protest against cuts in EU subsidies. One report said that 1,500 tobacco growers had marched on the parliament building and blocked the city center for hours, while another said that 5,000 farmers from around the country had taken part in a peaceful protest. The march, which was held on the eve of a visit to Greece by EU Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, was said to have been the first of a number of similar protests planned to take place throughout the EU. The tobacco growers are opposed to a reduction in EU subsidies that were agreed as part of the 2004 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and that have already decimated tobacco production in Greece. Enditem