The German Farmers' Union has called for a parliamentary solution to end the ongoing protests against the reduction of diesel subsidies used in agriculture.

The union president, Joachim Rukwied, told the German Press Agency (dpa) before the closed meeting of the center-left Social Democratic Party today, Thursday: "The slow settlement, as currently proposed, cannot be a solution."

Rukwied added: "It is now up to the federal government and the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag to put an end to these protests."

He said: "We call on the parliamentary groups to hold intensive discussions on how to maintain the competitiveness of agriculture and how to end the protests."

Farmers across Germany are putting pressure on the ruling coalition government to increase the easing of its already softened plans this week, with campaigns to disrupt highways and cities.

The federal government plans to gradually phase out the tax exemption on diesel used in agriculture, which has been in place for more than 70 years, over three years instead of cancelling it all at once.

The coalition had completely withdrawn the planned cancellation of the tax exemption for farmers' vehicles.

The plans initiated by the cabinet will now be submitted to the Bundestag for parliamentary deliberations.