In Europe, growing farmer protests in a key electoral year will likely slow the implementation of environmental reforms in the European Union and make it harder for Brussels to negotiate free trade agreements. Farmers across Europe have taken to the streets in recent weeks to voice their discontent over their governments' economic, environmental and trade policies. Germany has seen the largest demonstrations, with thousands of farmers blocking the country's major cities to protest government plans to cut agricultural subsidies amid an ongoing budget crisis that has forced Berlin to reduce spending across the board. Because of the protests, the German government abandoned its original plan to abolish vehicle tax benefits for agricultural businesses and phase out subsidies for agricultural diesel only gradually until 2026, but farming groups are demanding the latter measure be removed entirely. In France, unionized farmers have been blocking motorways and targeting government buildings in the country's...
