On the sidelines of the special EU summit, farmers protested, sometimes violently, against environmental regulations, dwindling subsidies and trade agreements.
Brussels – Farmers traveled to Brussels with 1,300 tractors for the protests. On the edge of EU-Special summit on Thursday they protested against European agricultural policy. At the center of the discontent are strict environmental regulations and Criticism of the Mercosur trade agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Burning objects and tear gas during farmers' protests in Brussels
The discontent of the agricultural sector was expressed in front of the European Parliament. Some objects were set on fire and the police protected the main entrance with barbed wire and units in protective gear. Objects were thrown by demonstrators and tear gas was used by the police. There were loud noises about the actions dpa In addition, parts of parliament and the meeting location of the heads of state and government were largely shielded from the police.
Accommodation from the EU Commission cannot stop farmers' protests
There are currently farmer protests in several EU countries. Also In Germany, thousands of tractors blocked the roads. Farmers see themselves being driven into an economic corner by what they see as disproportionate environmental regulations, cheap products from abroad and dwindling subsidies, for example for agricultural diesel.
On Wednesday, the EU Commission suspended a requirement retroactively to January 1st that four percent of arable land should be left fallow for environmental protection purposes – such as hedges for breeding birds. Instead, farmers should now grow nitrogen-fixing plants such as lentils or peas or catch crops on seven percent of their fields.
EU Parliament President: “The protesters are not to blame”
Even though new aid for Ukraine was actually on the agenda at the special EU summit, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is pushing to also talk about the protests in front of the parliament door. “The concerns they have are partly justified,” he said loudly dpa on Thursday morning. Farmers are important partners in the fight against this Climate changeno enemies.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola agreed: “We should not focus on blaming those who are protesting, but rather say that we are listening to you.” As a parliament, we believe that no one’s voice should be ignored should be. The EU Parliament should not ignore concerned voices. (lm/dpa)
#Farmers39 #protests #Brussels #Parliament #sealed #fires
