Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on January 15 that the protests by farmers and truckers will end in “a couple of days” as most of the issues raised have been or are close to being settled. 

The protests have crippled traffic at customs, along the large cities’ belt roads and at the entry to Constanta Port. 

However, the end of the protests is not certain. Even if some industry associations may back Ciolacu’s optimistic view, the protests are not organised centrally by such associations.

On the other hand, attempts by the far-right parties AUR and SOS to use the protests for electoral purposes were mostly rejected by the farmers and truckers.

Farmers launched the action in protest against the low price of their products despite the rising cost of inputs, while the transporters are protesting against the high price of third-party liability insurance (RCA). 

Ciolacu said on January 15 that “99%” of the issues raised by the farmers have now been settled, and negotiations with the insurance companies are at an advanced stage for settling the RCA problem raised by the truckers.

The Ministry of Finance reportedly proposed to the protesters measures related to reinvested profit, subsidies and the Prevention Law, but refused requests regarding per diems, tax facilities and exemption from excise duties.

A representative of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC), Marius Micu, announced on the evening of January 15, at the end of the negotiations at the ministry, that “a satisfactory agreement was reached on the farmers' claims and it will probably be decided to suspend the protests”.

However, the statement was not confirmed by farmers with tractors and other machinery at Afumați, at the entry to Bucharest.

The AAC, the largest organisation of Romanian farmers (it includes four of the big federations), sent a list of 14 requests with a deadline of January 15. If they are not accepted by the government, the AAC threatens to trigger an authorised national protest.

The Confederation of Authorised Operators and Transporters in Romania (COTAR) analysed the protestors' claims and concluded that 70% of them can be resolved within a reasonable time. “The proposals are pertinent, some being very urgent and necessary”, the confederation concluded. But important issues are still in limbo.

"Regarding the capping of the RCA price at a level of RON4,500 (€900) for the B0 bonus class — we believe that the initiative, in this form, cannot be implemented, for 2 reasons: a) that level is unsustainable, if we still want that policy RCA to be able to compensate for damages caused by accidents. City Insurance sold RCA policies at that price level and went bankrupt, producing huge losses in this market. Also (b), Also, the long-term capping of a price goes against European legislation, and such a measure cannot be maintained even in the medium term,” the federation said.