Angry farmers protest outside EU Parliament in Brussels
As farmer protests spread through many countries across Europe, producers have expressed their discontent by throwing eggs and stones at the European Parliament building, demanding the EU leaders to cut taxes and lower the rising costs.
Convoys with hundreds of angry farmers driving heavy-duty tractors protested outside the building in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday.
Farmers pelted police with firecrackers, beer bottles and burning bales of hay as the security apparatus used force to keep the protesting farmers away from the parliament building.
Major thoroughfares in Brussels were blocked by farmers by around 1,300 tractors.
The European Parliament assembled on Thursday for a summit on continued military support to Ukraine.
Protests were held across Europe. Farmers blocked important traffic routes across France and Italy on Wednesday.
While the farmers’ crisis is not officially on the agenda of the EU Parliament, an EU diplomat said the situation with the farmers was likely to be discussed later during the summit.
“You know what's happening: European elections are coming and politicians are super nervous and also the European Commission. And I think that this is the best moment that together all the European farmers go to the street,” said Jose Maria Castilla, a farmer representing the Spanish farmers' union Asaja.
Farmers have been complaining that they are not being paid enough and are choked by taxes and green rules and face unfair competition from abroad.
While local grievances also vary, the growing unrest, also seen in Portugal, Greece or Germany exposes tensions over the EU's drive to tackle climate change.
The protests have helped the farmers to secure scanty measures. On Wednesday, the European Commission made two key proposals — one to shield EU farmers from cheap Ukrainian imports and the other to loosen some environmental regulations on fallow lands.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in disagreement with other EU leaders on many issues.
“We need to find new leaders who truly represent the interests of the people. The EU Commission should represent the interests of European farmers against those of Ukraine, not the other way around,” Orban’s spokesman quoted him as saying, referring to the European Parliament elections that are going to take place in June.
In France, where farmers have been protesting for weeks, the government has dropped plans to gradually reduce subsidies on agricultural diesel and promised more aid. But farmers say that is not enough, as protests have spread to other countries.
“It’s not the Europe of the people, it’s not the Europe of those who work. It’s the multinational corporations that rule Europe. That’s why we are all in the middle of the road,” said farmer Paolo Pepponi, a part of the crowd that blocked a motorway exit near Rome.
SS
