Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered farmers the opportunity to benefit from lower electricity bills for the next ten years, in an attempt to respond to their demands and avoid large-scale protests in Athens, reports Bloomberg.

In recent days, farmers’ protests have intensified in Greece, leading to the blocking of highways and the paralysis of several cities. Farmers’ representatives have threatened to bring tractors to the streets of Athens, at a time when agriculture has become a battleground in Europe.

“We are here to find solutions and we come to this meeting in good faith,” Mitsotakis said at the start of the talks with the farmers, which take place in Athens on Tuesday. However, the Greek Prime Minister called for finding a compromise solution because the fiscal room for maneuver is “limited,” according to Agerpres.

Mitsotakis’ plan to reduce farmers’ production costs includes lower electricity bills for the next ten years, starting in April, according to the Greek Prime Minister’s Office. Another measure concerns the payment of the first installment of the fuel tax refund in March.

The Greek farmers demanded tax reductions and a renegotiation of the Common Agricultural Policy, which establishes the subsidy regime in the European Union. Greek farmers also claim that they have not been fully compensated for last year’s floods.

Recently, disgruntled farmers have protested in several European countries, including France, Germany, Poland and Italy. Among their grievances are rising costs, bureaucracy, new regulations contained in the European Green Deal and imports of cheap products that reduce their market share.

The Greek government has insisted it will not jeopardize its fiscal balance, which is being closely watched by financial markets and investors after Greece emerged from a debt crisis that lasted about a decade. The authorities in Athens have promised to increase the primary budget surplus to 2.1% of GDP this year, from 1.1% of GDP in 2023.