Nicosia: A protest march involving dozens of farmer tractors took place outside the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on Thursday, with participants expressing their opposition to the European Commission's proposals for the European Union's new Common Agricultural Policy.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the leaders of the agricultural organizations handed their petition and that of the European agricultural organizations (Copa-Cogeca) to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Andreas Gregoriou, calling for the resolution of some serious issues facing the agricultural sector today, such as the impact of the climate crisis and the procedures for area-based subsidies in relation to state-owned and Turkish Cypriot land, while also calling for the activation of measure 23 for 2025. They also stressed that the decision to reduce the Common Agricultural Policy by pound 89 billion, and in particular the clause prohibiting subsidies for pensioners, "will cause all farmers to decline."
For his part, Gregoriou, who received the petitions on behalf of the President of the Republic, said that they would study them very carefully. "The EU Council of Agriculture Ministers, which met in September, found that the package of regulations presented by the European Commission to the Council in the summer of 2025 is not satisfactory," he noted, adding that, in view of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council, the Minister of Agriculture will work in consultation with her colleagues to improve these proposals, which will be submitted to the Irish Presidency "to achieve the best possible results."
At the same time, he said that the payment of area subsidies had already begun, noting, however, that "we must work to provide permanent solutions." As he explained, most of the subsidies have been paid, adding that some problems have been identified with the legal ownership of state and Turkish Cypriot plots. "As of yesterday, after consultation with the Ministry of Interior and the relevant departments of the Land Registry, the payment of these subsidies has begun and it is expected that some problematic cases will be paid by the end of the year or possibly in early January," he added, stressing that "the President of the Republic has a particular interest in the primary sector."
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, AKEL MP Yiannakis Gavriel, stated that "we are all aware of the long-standing problems in the primary sector." He added that the memorandum to be signed in Brazil by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, "will be disastrous for the whole of Europe, especially for us in Cyprus, which is a small island." Addressing Gregoriou, Gavriel noted that "the food security of the country is at risk and we should focus on that." Referring to area subsidies, he said that "you must find a solution yesterday and pay them before the end of the year."
Referring to the CAP, he said that its budget will be reduced by pound 86.5 billion. "Imagine this money being taken away from the primary sector and directed to the arms manufacturing industry," he stressed. Subsequently, with messages against the proposed CAP and the Mercosur trade agreement, Cypriot farmers staged a protest march outside the EU House, in Nicosia. The leaders of the agricultural organisations handed their petitions - including a petition from beekeepers - to the Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, Panicos Pourgourides.
In their petition, the agricultural organizations call for the activation of measure 23 of the Strategic Plan, the elimination of bureaucracy affecting applications to the Land Registry for the lease of government-owned land for agricultural purposes, and a definitive solution regarding the possibility for professional farmers to lease and cultivate Turkish Cypriot land regardless of whether they are refugees or not.
The Copa-Cogeca petition notes that decisions are needed in three key areas. Specifically, it refers to "a strong, common and well-funded CAP after 2027, together with a Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) that supports competitiveness," "fair, transparent trade that protects EU standards and the most sensitive sectors," and "real simplification, better regulation, and legal certainty."
Addressing the farmers, Pourgourides said he would forward the letter from the agricultural organizations to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who "never stops emphasizing that farmers are the backbone of the European Union." "Without farmers, without the countryside, we cannot survive. That is clear," he stressed. On the Mercosur agreement, he noted that "this trade agreement is not an open-door agreement. There are huge safeguards in place to protect farmers." At the same time, he assured that the European Commission "will do everything in its power to protect the rights of European farmers, whether through the Mercosur agreement or any other agreement."
He also recalled that in 2025, the European Commission gave pound 99 million to farmers in various European countries, including Cypriot farmers, for damages they suffered from the effects of the climate crisis.