Europe counts costs of backing Ukraine
Widespread farmers’ protests show bread-and-butter issues matter more to ordinary people
European Union countries are continuing to show resolute support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, but protests by farmers across the continent have shown that people are increasingly reluctant to continue sacrificing their own interests for the cause, analysts said.
Farmers across Europe have staged protests over the past few weeks against the EU’s agricultural policies and food imports from Ukraine.
On March 1, French agricultural workers encircled the Arc de Triomphe in Paris with their tractors, staging a demonstration aimed at “saving French agriculture”.
Meanwhile, thousands of farmers took to the streets in the Polish capital, Warsaw, last week, and agricultural protesters disrupted traffic on roads in Spain close to the French border on March 5.
The protesters called for a retraction of the EU’s Green Deal, an initiative designed to combat climate change that they argue imposes excessive costs on them.
The demonstrators also demanded that imports of Ukrainian grains and other agricultural products be stopped, saying that their substandard quality is detrimental to the food supply and poses a risk to agriculture.
In May 2022, the EU established the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes to address the issue of agricultural exports. However, for logistical and other reasons most of the Ukrainian agricultural products transiting through ended up stranded in EU countries, impacting local farmers.
Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said that as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its third year, many countries will have to grapple with the question of whether to continue taking sides.
The EU perceives Russia as a threat to Europe, and countries across the continent appear united in supporting Ukraine. Although differences among EU member countries on several issues, such as aid to Ukraine and Sweden joining NATO, have largely been resolved, “ordinary people see things quite differently”, said Zhao.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Russia over the past two years, a move that has had a significant impact on the bloc’s economy, leading to higher living costs for ordinary people, he said.
The European Commission recently cut its forecast for EU economic growth this year from 1.3 percent to 0.9 percent.
The EU has used on Ukraine a lot of funds that could have been utilized to support economic recovery and public interests within the bloc, Zhao said.
For example, the EU Council recently approved 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in aid for Ukraine, even as some member countries cut subsidies for agricultural products, much to the ire of many farmers.
Moreover, the EU’s transformation toward green agriculture has led to restrictions on the production of local agricultural products, and special policies have allowed an influx of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products into the broader European market.
He Yun, an associate professor at the School of Public Administration, Hunan University, said that as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, “Ukraine fatigue” has set in in the West, and the conflict is likely to further divide Europeans.
Angry farmers have already become a problem for the EU, and in many of its member countries. In the European Parliament elections set for June, far-right political parties are likely to capitalize on farmers’ discontent to gain an advantage, He said.
A poll published by the European Council on Foreign Relations recently found that only 10 percent of respondents said they thought Ukraine could defeat Russia on the battlefield. At the same time, 41 percent said peace talks should be pushed forward.