IMF chief warns European governments might ‘remorse’ backing protesting farmers | EUROtoday

Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 01:19

1 min

Farmers from Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Greece have staged weeks of disruptive however largely peaceable protests aimed toward successful concessions from European leaders forward of upcoming elections.

“You see the farmers protesting. On the human level I understand they face more hardship and it is not easy to do the job they do,” Georgieva stated throughout a press briefing on the International Monetary Fund’s places of work in Washington.

“But if that sentiment continues and it pushes governments in a corner in which they find themselves unable to do what is necessary for (the) strength of the economies, then there may be days to regret,” she added.

Thousands of farmers from throughout Europe protested in Brussels Thursday throughout a gathering between French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on “the future of European agriculture.”

After the summit, Macron instructed reporters that France had managed to influence the EU to “impose stricter rules” for cereal and poultry imports, together with from Ukraine.

Georgieva addressed the protests throughout a wide-ranging briefing with reporters that touched on authorities debt ranges, US financial coverage and Fund negotiations with Argentina, Egypt and Pakistan.

“I was talking to a number of policymakers, especially on the finance minister side, and they recognise the importance of fiscal consolidation,” she stated. “But they also recognise how difficult it is to pull back from support.”

“It’s easy to give it; it’s tough to take it back,” she added.

She known as on governments around the globe to work on rebuilding fiscal buffers depleted by the Covid-19 pandemic by closing tax loopholes and assessing the standard of present public spending.

(AFP)