PM Announces First Measures For Transporters And Farmers

  Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Thursday that the Government will adopt a first package of measures agreed with farmers and transporters. “It is clear that the protests were justified, and the decisions we are adopting confirm that most of their demands are absolutely legitimate,” the prime minister said at the beginning of the Government meeting.   According to him, several projects are aimed at farmers. “We are giving direct support of 100 euros per hectare to growers in the vegetable sector to compensate for losses suffered due to the war in Ukraine, for crops established in the fall of 2022. The compensation per agricultural enterprise cannot exceed 280,000 euros. We estimate over 162 thousand beneficiaries and a budgetary effort of almost 250 million euros, an amount already budgeted. Our farmers fully deserve this compensation! In addition, I also thought it common sense to ask for the equivalence of driving licenses in categories B and B1 to drive tractors, so we will legislate it today. At the same time, we also solve the problem of agricultural machinery, extending the exceptions from registration and periodic technical inspection to the category of slow vehicles. Also, the Romanian Automotive Register (RAR) will be able to perform the ITP (the vehicle’s periodical technical inspection) on agricultural or forestry vehicles with mobile laboratories right at the premises of the farms. It is reasonable not to ask the farmer to take his equipment from the field or forest and go to the RAR, but to do the exact opposite,” said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The Prime Minister said that on the agenda is the temporary postponement of the loan installments of agricultural producers affected by the drought from 2023. “I fully support the measure and I know that sustained work is being done, both with the National Bank and with the entire banking system and the Competition Council, to find the most suitable technical formulas. I am convinced that we will quickly complete this aid scheme for the affected farmers”, said Ciolacu.