Spraying manure and throwing beets, farmers in tractors again block Brussels to protest EU policies

March 26, 2024 16:47

Farmers threw beets and sprayed manure at police on March 26 as hundreds of tractors again sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters, where agriculture ministers sought to ease a crisis that has led to months of protests across the 27-member bloc, Report informs referring to AP.

The farmers are protesting what they see as excessive red tape and unfair trading practices as well as increased environmental measures and cheap imports from Ukraine. “Let us make a living from our profession,” read one billboard on a tractor blocking a main thoroughfare littered with hay, potatoes, eggs and manure.

As the protests turned into violence, police used tear gas and water cannons to keep farmers and some 250 tractors at bay, even as the ministers met to push through measures meant to calm the crisis. Authorities asked commuters to stay out of Brussels and work from home as much as possible.

With protests taking place from Finland to Greece, Poland and Ireland, the farmers have already won concessions from EU and national authorities, from a loosening of controls on farms to a weakening of pesticide and environmental rules.

A major EU plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how the protests have had a deep influence on politics.