“The agricultural sector receives subsidies of a good nine billion euros annually from Brussels and Berlin,” the finance minister continued. “Less than three hundred million will now be lost in 2025. So we’re talking about around three percent.”
The federal government has carefully looked at the effects of the proposal and therefore made corrections, said Lindner. “The green license plate remains, the subsidy for agricultural diesel is only gradually expiring. By reducing subsidies, we are not closing budget holes, but rather financing new relief. The electricity tax for the entire manufacturing industry is being reduced. An old subsidy is expiring, a new relief will be introduced.”
In the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post” on Saturday, Lindner offered farmers the prospect of greater reductions in bureaucratic burdens. “The current discussions about agriculture are not just about public money and subsidies,” said Lindner. “There is also growing frustration among farmers about more and more regulations and other interventions in their operational processes.”
“That’s why we have to look at how economic success can be improved overall through less regulation,” said the FDP politician. “If subsidies are reduced, then expensive bureaucracy should also be reduced step by step. That would only be fair.”
Meanwhile, IG Metall boss Christiane Benner was concerned about the farmers’ protests. “The farmers’ protests are at massive risk of being infiltrated by radical parties,” the union leader told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “I understand that some farmers have economic concerns. But I wonder how to contain the escalating protest.”
