Tractors Leave the Roads, Farmers Decide to Sue the Government at the Constitutional Court

The battle of farmers on the road has failed, and now we are entering a legal battle, stated Zvonko Pipić, president of the Agricultural Chamber of Virovitica-Podravina County, after a coordination meeting of farmers’ associations that participated in organizing two weeks of protests by Croatian farmers in several Croatian counties.

Along with the decision to end the protests, the coordination at the meeting in Nova Gradiška decided to sue the Government at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia for discrimination in the payment of subsidies.

The battle to save the Croatian village is just beginning. Discrimination in the payment of subsidies ranges from 90 to 20 percent. We demand that the Minister of Agriculture Tihomir Jakovina personally be held accountable. We demand his resignation, as he has no place at the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, stated Tomislav Pokrovac, president of the Croatian Farmers’ Union (SHS).

Representatives of farmers’ associations are also seeking a meeting with the President of the Republic Ivo Josipović, the publication of the complete financial envelope for agriculture, the publication of all subsidy recipients with the amounts received, and the declaration of a natural disaster due to drought.

In response to a journalist’s question about why there was a lack of broader support from farmers for the protesters, a member of the coordination and president of the Association of Farmers’ Unions of Slavonia and Baranja (ZUSSB) Antun Laslo said that the main culprit for this is the information that the police will fine protesters with amounts ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 kuna. He emphasizes that such a large fine has frightened many.

He believes that the lack of funds for the payment of subsidies to farmers has occurred due to the repurposing of funds within the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry is hiding data not only from farmers but also from the offices in the counties. It is evident that these funds are directed towards salaries. The administration in the Ministry of Agriculture has significantly increased with the arrival of this government. We will provide arguments to the Constitutional Court in the coming days, which we will also inform the public about. If we do not find understanding at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, we will pursue legal action to Strasbourg, concluded the president of the Association of Farmers’ Unions of Slavonia and Baranja.

Let us recall that last week’s meeting with the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance and wheat buyers did not yield results, and farmers submitted their demands to the Ban’s Court yesterday. They requested that the Prime Minister respond to their demands by today at 10 a.m., but they did not receive his response.