European Farmers Rebel Against Climate Policies, Threatening EU Election

European farmers are increasingly frustrated with climate policies imposed by the European Union, leading to protests and concerns that these policies could influence the outcome of the ongoing European Parliament election.

**Paragraph 1:** European farmers are expressing growing discontent with climate policies implemented by the European Union (EU), prompting protests and raising concerns about their potential impact on the ongoing European Parliament election.

**Paragraph 2:** According to Alan Matthews, a retired professor of European agricultural policy at Trinity College in Dublin, farmers are expected to assume multiple roles, including "part ecologist, part nature conservationist," in addition to their traditional farming responsibilities.

**Paragraph 3:** These additional obligations include monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and adhering to various requirements that farmers find burdensome and unnecessary.

**Paragraph 4:** Instead of youth protests, which were prevalent before previous European elections, Matthews anticipates that farmer protests will significantly influence the election's outcome.

**Paragraph 5:** German farmer Anthony Lee, who is running in the current election, accused the European Green Party of attempting to eliminate small farming businesses under the guise of environmental protection.

**Paragraph 6:** Lee also criticized the excessive control exerted by European politicians over farming practices, including the routine monitoring of farms by satellites and the use of apps to report on activities that are deemed incorrect.

**Paragraph 7:** Satellite images are analyzed to detect irregularities, such as growing corn instead of wheat or plowing fields at unauthorized times, triggering automatic messages to government agencies.

**Paragraph 8:** Polish farmers, in particular, took to the streets of Warsaw last month to protest the EU's climate policies, fearing a loss of autonomy and the imposition of excessive regulations.

**Paragraph 9:** Diversification requirements, which mandate farmers to produce a variety of crops, are also met with resistance, as they pose challenges for small-scale farmers.

**Paragraph 10:** Grazyna Gasowska, a dairy farmer who participated in the Warsaw protest, expressed concerns that farmers would be relegated to mere pawns under the Green Deal, subject to the whims of EU bureaucrats.