STORY: Maltese farmers stage new wave of protest
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 15, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:08
LOCATION: Valletta
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of farmers' protest

STORYLINE:

Maltese farmers on Thursday drove their tractors towards the capital city Valletta, carrying national flags and placards reading "Take care of us or you'll go hungry" and "Farmers gone? Eat your money."

The protests followed similar demonstrations of the past weeks in several European countries including Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

The farmers in protest are largely against strict EU regulations on climate change mitigation and environment protection in agriculture, which, they said, would put their livelihood at risk.

They said such rules would increase the costs for European farmers and make their produce more expensive -- and therefore less competitive -- compared to products imported from non-EU markets where such limits were not in place.

Maltese farmers told Xinhua that under EU rules there is an unfair playing field for local products, which due to limited space for production on the small island, face stiff competition from imported foods. They are calling for more protection from their government.

The protest in Malta was organized by the Active Farmers Association and was supported by other sectors in the local food chain, including poultry and rabbit farms.

Association President Malcolm Borg listed several proposals which he said the government should take on board if it wants to help cushion the impact of EU regulations. They include identifying the non-EU countries, whose food products are in large quantity and direct competition with Maltese farmers, and finding ways to protect local producers, for example banning some imports and putting stricter rules on imported products from non-EU regions.

The proposals were handed to Maltese Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo and Opposition leader Bernard Grech, who were both present at the farmers' protest.

After the wave of protests, the European Commission made some partial concessions to the farmers last week, including withdrawing a plan to halve the use of pesticides in the EU by 2030.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Valletta.
(XHTV)