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Senate Chairman Nicolae Ciuca, the national leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), says that the farmers' protests are well-founded, and the government should support them.
"The farmers' protests are well-founded and they are indeed problems. We have to talk about the protests in Romania, but we see that they have gained momentum in the other countries elsewhere in Europe, countries that are stronger and more economically developed than us. I personally had a direct experience with Romanian farmers, as the prime minister, and since then I have identified what their problems are, I have initiated support programmes," Ciuca told Antena 3 CNN private broadcaster on Tuesday.
He added that the Romanian agriculture "has to be competitive" and sell products with a high added value.
"Agriculture in Romania should be competitive, agriculture in Romania should no longer sell only raw materials (...) it should move on to processing produce and sell with high added value. These are measures we took during governance, the incumbent government is continuing them and there are other specific issues for which the government, the ministries have to (...) identify solutions, find them and support farmers. Also, at the level of the National Liberal Party we discussed with our MEPs (...) to cancel or postpone any measures that affect people. At the moment, at the level of the European Union, postponement solutions are being identified, and the government, tomorrow - if I'm not mistaken - will take responsibility for an increase in fuel excise duties. We need farmers in the field and in the farms and hauliers on the roads," added Ciuca.
