German states put brakes on planned fuel subsidy cuts for farmers

DPA
·1 min read
Tractors stand on the harbor island near the Ozeaneum. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, farmers have once again vented their displeasure at the traffic light's cost-cutting plans with protest actions. Stefan Sauer/dpa
Tractors stand on the harbor island near the Ozeaneum. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, farmers have once again vented their displeasure at the traffic light's cost-cutting plans with protest actions. Stefan Sauer/dpa
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The upper chamber of Germany's parliament on Thursday delayed consideration of controversial plans to phase out diesel fuel subsidies for farmers.

The subsidy cut has enraged Germany's agricultural sector and triggered ongoing protests by farmers. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government has agreed to more slowly phase out the subsidy but has otherwise held firm on the plans.

The move by the Bundesrat will give the leaders of Germany's 16 states more time to weigh concerns and demands from farmers, said Conrad Clemens, a top deputy to Lower Saxony's state premier Stephan Weil, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Bundesrat is made up of the state premiers from all 16 states.

The president of the German Farmers' Association, Joachim Rukwied, welcomed the move as "a clear signal that the states are putting the brakes" on the coalition's budget proposals, which include the subsidy cuts.

The conservative opposition CDU/CSU bloc has fought to keep the agricultural fuel subsidies in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.