German farmers block access to key shipping ports in new round of protests
Around 100 tractors were parked on strategic routes leading to Hamburg's port area, disrupting access to Germany's biggest such facility and one of the busiest in Europe for international container shipping, according to AFP/The Local. Other smaller ports along Germany's northern coast -- Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven -- were also hit by tractor blockades.
Police at Bremerhaven said talks were ongoing with farmers in a bid to ease access to the harbour area. Some 1,500 tractors were also holding up traffic across Hamburg, police said. Farmers in Germany have been protesting since December over Chancellor Olaf Scholz's plans to scrap subsidies in the agricultural sector after a shock court ruling blew a huge hole in the government's spending plans.
The rallies prompted the government to partially walk back on the cuts, promising to reinstate a discount on vehicle tax and to phase out a diesel subsidy over several years instead of immediately. But the agricultural sector has not let up on the demonstrations, with the federation of farmers demanding that the government reverse its subsidy cut plans entirely.
In neighbouring France, farmers were also blockading major routes in protests focused on pay, taxes and regulations.
