International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva argued on Thursday that European governments must resist calls for more financial support for the protesting farming sector across the continent, otherwise they might regret it, France 24 reported.
Farmers from Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Greece have staged weeks of protests aimed at getting some concessions from European leaders ahead of upcoming elections.
You see the farmers protesting. On the human level I understand they face more hardship and it is not easy to do the job they do. But if that sentiment continues and it pushes governments in a corner in which they find themselves unable to do what is necessary for (the) strength of the economies, then there may be days to regret.
Thousands of farmers from across Europe protested in Brussels on Thursday during a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen regarding “the future of European agriculture.”
After the summit, Macron informed reporters that France had managed to convince the EU to “impose stricter rules” for imports of cereals and poultry, including from Ukraine.
Georgieva also urged global governments to work on rebuilding fiscal buffers depleted by the COVID-19 pandemic through closing tax loopholes and assessing the quality of existing public spending.
