German farmers drive hundreds of tractors in Berlin to protest against government

German farmers have blocked Berlin streets with over 3,000 tractors Monday to protest government plans to lift tax relief for agricultural oil.

Joachim Rukied, president of the German Farmers' Association, said they would not accept the government's latest bid to gradually remove tax reliefs and continue their protests.

“I have the impression that the coalition government has not yet realised: we will not accept bad compromises for agricultural oil,” he said in a statement.

“We need a change in politics that prioritizes the needs of our population, small and medium enterprises, economy and agriculture,” he added.

Since the early morning, tractor columns blocked traffic in Berlin and the city's main roads in the government circle and around the city's Brandenburg gate were blocked.

Some of the farmers put tables on their tractors and trucks that read: “has no future without farmers”, “Fermat are on fire, politicians are asleep”, “You shouldn't play with food, secure agricultural production” and stop wasting taxpayers' money! ”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's left-liberal coalition announced last month that it is planning to cut subsidies for agricultural fuels and vehicles as part of the government's new austerity measures to meet budget rules.

Amid pressure, the government revised its plan earlier this month and said tax relief would gradually be lifted over many years. But the farmers' association rejected the offer, stressing that these changes were not enough to address their problems. / AA