European Union Agriculture Ministers Convene in Brussels Amid Persistent Farmer Protests

In the meantime, following the conclusion of the meeting, EU agriculture ministers pledged further support to streamline bureaucracy and aid farmers.

Under pressure from farmers, EU agriculture ministers previously omitted the target of reducing agricultural emissions from the 2040 climate roadmap, compromising on the Union’s environmental policies.

While Brussels hosted the ministerial meeting, farmers continued their protests, underscoring the enduring nature of their grievances.

Morgan Ody, the General Coordinator of the farmer protests in Belgium, summarized their demands to Reuters, stating, “As farmers, we are here in Brussels once again because the European Union is not listening to our demands. Our demands revolve around fair income distribution for everyone. We produce the food, yet we cannot make ends meet. Why? Because of free trade agreements. Prices are below production costs. Hence, we demand action from the EU on this matter.”

In the midst of the Brussels demonstration, farmers directed a barrage of bottles and eggs at riot police who responded with water cannons.

Following the conclusion of the EU agriculture ministers’ meeting, promises were made to provide additional support to farmers and reduce bureaucracy.

While European Union (EU) agriculture ministers convened in Brussels to address the sector’s crisis, European farmers’ protests showed no signs of abating on Monday.

Amid joint efforts by German and Polish farmers to barricade common border crossings, farmers in Brussels during the ministerial meeting pelted riot police with bottles amid a shower of eggs.

In Madrid, the capital of Spain, farmers demanded measures against cheap supermarket prices and urged the government to provide more support to counter unfair competition from abroad.

Nearly 900 tractors, barred from approaching the area where the ministers held their meeting and cordoned off by police, caused traffic gridlock in the capital by blocking roads.

Farmers from all over Spain who participated in the protest in Madrid called on EU agriculture ministers to relax existing regulations and make changes in subsidies and other programs in their favor within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Spanish grain and sugar beet producer Roberto Rodriguez expressed his frustration, stating, “These rules are impossible to comply with; they want us to work in the fields during the day and deal with paperwork at night; we are tired of bureaucracy.”

Imports from Ukraine

In Poland, farmers angered by cheap agricultural imports from non-EU Ukraine blocked traffic on the “A2” highway at the common border with Germany.

Two years ago, amidst Kiev’s struggle against Russian occupation, the EU decided to waive tariffs on Ukraine’s food exports.

Adrian Wawrzyniak, spokesperson for the Polish Farmers’ Solidarity Union, remarked, “This is a joint solidarity demonstration showing that both Polish and German farmers will not allow agricultural products from Ukraine to continue entering the European market.”

Will the EU Export Ukrainian Grain?

Belgian Agriculture Minister David Clarinval, in a post-meeting statement in Brussels, indicated that the EU aimed to find a more effective solution for redirecting agricultural products from Ukraine to traditional markets outside the EU.

Additionally, agriculture ministers discussed a new set of proposals aimed at alleviating financial pressures on European farmers, including reducing farm inspections and exempting small farms from certain environmental standards.

Clarinval emphasized the need for the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, to propose more ambitious measures to reduce bureaucracy.

What did Turkish-German Minister Ozdemir Say?

Cem Ozdemir, Germany’s Turkish-origin Minister of Agriculture, criticized the EU’s current agricultural policy as a “bureaucratic monster,” insisting that Brussels should ensure that farmers earn good money if they opt for biodiversity and green measures.

Ozdemir remarked, “An average farmer spends a quarter of their time at their desk.”

In response to escalating protests, the EU recently removed the target of reducing agricultural emissions from the 2040 climate roadmap and withdrew a law aimed at reducing pesticides.