Greek Farmers Protest Disrupt Port Operations

Dozens of Greek farmers disrupted operations at the regional port of Volos on Wednesday as part of a nationwide demonstration to protest delays in farm aid payments and high production costs.

Farmers have deployed thousands of tractors and trucks in dozens of blockades for days, disrupting traffic at several junctures along major motorways and intermittently blocking border crossings as they face a shortfall of more than 600 million euros ($698.58 million) in European Union aid and other payments.

The delays were prompted by investigations into a corruption scandal in which some farmers, aided by state employees, faked land ownership to qualify for payouts. Ongoing audits have slowed subsequent disbursements. The delays also coincide with an outbreak of sheep pox undefined that has led to farmers having to cull hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats.

Farmers from the central agricultural region of Thessaly, where floods devastated crops and livestock in 2023, drove their tractors to the nearby city of Volos and parked them for a few hours outside the port. Police blocked the entrance to keep them away from passenger and cargo terminals.

In an attempt to limit the impact of the protests on transport, a Greek Supreme Court prosecutor