Greek farmers' blockades cause major border truck queues, traffic disruptions

Intermittent blockades by farmers and livestock breeders in northern Greece have caused significant disruptions to international traffic and freight movement at multiple border crossings. According to reports, protests on Thursday led to lengthy queues of trucks at the Promachonas crossing with Bulgaria, the Evzoni crossing with North Macedonia, and the Kipoi checkpoint on the Greek-Türkiye border. The demonstrators are protesting escalating production costs, high fuel prices, and what they perceive as inadequate government assistance.

Selective Traffic Allowance and Highway Closures

At the Kipoi border crossing with Türkiye, organizers coordinated with customs authorities to allow only vehicles carrying perishable goods, such as seafood, to pass through. Meanwhile, toll lanes on the vital Thessaloniki-Athens national highway remained closed, and farmers in western Greece blocked the Patras-Pyrgos highway near Kato Achaia, forcing a diversion of car traffic. Protesters temporarily lifted some blockades to ease congestion but reinstated them, indicating a flexible but persistent protest strategy.

Legal Repercussions and Broader Protest Movement

The protests have also led to legal confrontations. Two farmers are scheduled to stand trial on December 15 concerning clashes at a blockade in Larissa last Sunday that left two police officers injured. Dozens of farmers gathered with tractors outside the courthouse in a show of solidarity, vowing to continue protests across the Thessaly region. This reflects a deepening resolve within the agricultural community.

Economic Grievances and Impact on Türkiye

The blockades are part of a wider mobilization across northern Greece, with farmers asserting that the actions highlight the severe economic pressures threatening rural livelihoods. For neighboring Türkiye, a key trade partner, such disruptions at the Kipoi crossing underscore the interconnected nature of regional supply chains and the economic impact of social unrest within the European Union on cross-border commerce and logistics.