Romania Farmers Demand Higher Subsidies

They asked the government for an additional 300 lei (€88) per head of cattle for farmers who had up to three cows or bulls.

"That applies to about 90 per cent of farms in the country", Stefan Nicolae, president of the farmers' union, Agrostar, said.

He added that some 600,000 cattle were not officially registered, which could lead to some breeders not receiving subsidies.

Protesters played a funeral music on trumpets, and threw away milk, protesting at the government's "indifference" to the agriculture sector.

With almost half of its 21 million people living in rural areas, Romania has been facing big problems with its farm sector since joining the EU on January 1.

On October 10, the European Commission warned Romania that it had one month to correct deficiencies in its farm payments systems, or risk losing over €100 million in annual subsidies.

The Commission wants Bucharest to sort out its computerised livestock database and gather more information on exactly how much land individual farmers own, as its current system for identifying landowners does not make that clear.

According to Romania’s accession treaty, EU payments for farmers should start on December 1.

They are to increase from €443 million next year to €1,069 million in 2013.