Livestock farmers dissatisfied with the outcome of Wednesday's meeting with the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture are pressing ahead with protests today, deliberately timing their action to the informal EU summit in order to draw the attention of European leaders to their demand for an end to mass cullings. A large-scale mobilisation is planned for 11am at the Rizoelia roundabout, coinciding with the expected arrival of EU leaders at Larnaca airport as they make their way to Ayia Napa Marina. Farmers from all districts are expected to take part, according to their representative Stella Petrou, who said one lane of traffic in each direction will be closed while the other remains open. "Our aim is not to make things difficult for people," she said.
Uncoordinated and unpredictable
The protest is being organised by independent groups of farmers acting outside the established framework of the agricultural organisations, which have distanced themselves from the action. The organisations oppose mass demonstrations on the grounds that large gatherings risk spreading the foot-and-mouth virus further, and because they are already engaged in ongoing dialogue with the Ministry of Agriculture. The absence of the organisations' coordinating hand makes the scale and trajectory of today's protest difficult to predict, on a day of considerable diplomatic sensitivity for the Cypriot Presidency.
Police ready to intervene
Police spokesman Vyronas Vyronos said on Wednesday that measures are already in place to manage the protest and ensure that the official activities of the Cypriot Presidency proceed without disruption. "There is a plan for immediate intervention," he said, in the event that the summit is affected. He added that all necessary steps would be taken to prevent problems both for road traffic and for the Presidency's scheduled meetings.
The Presidential Palace appeals for calm
Viktor Papadopoulos, director of the President's Press Office, called on the farmers to reconsider. "We respect the right to protest, but we consider it unnecessary," he said. "I want to point out that the agricultural organisations themselves are not participating in this event, it is being organised by individuals, and their representatives had a one-and-a-half-hour meeting with the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture." He made a broader appeal on state radio on Wednesday: "Tomorrow, the first European Council summit to be held in our country since our accession to the EU in 2004 begins. This is a historic moment. I think everyone should demonstrate a high sense of responsibility, towards our country and towards the entire agricultural community, which expects Cyprus to remain in the EU single market and to avoid consequences on many other issues, including travel advisories."
The demand the government cannot meet
Papadopoulos also delivered a clear message to the agricultural organisations that their core demand cannot be fulfilled. Following the European Commissioner for Animal Health's refusal to grant an exemption, the government is not in a position to ease the EU protocol requiring mass cullings, he said. The organisations had written jointly to President Christodoulides asking him to raise the issue at the EU summit. They argue that the blind application of the protocol will permanently destroy halloumi, meat and dairy production, and that the virus is effectively endemic given conditions in the occupied north and in Turkey, where equivalent measures are not being applied.
Papadopoulos acknowledged the wider stakes, noting that the protocols are international in scope and affect not only livestock farming but also travel advisories and Cyprus's standing on international watchlists.
On compensation, he said the government has already approved a fund of €28 million, and that per-animal compensation rates have been revised upward following consultations with the foot-and-mouth disease advisory committee, in which the agricultural organisations participate. Petrou confirmed that the Ministry indicated the compensation list for affected farmers is expected to be published by Monday.