Europe Sees Massive Farmers’ Unrest

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS (Worthy News) – Tensions remained high in Europe on Monday, where desperate farmers protested over the weekend, blocking crucial border crossings between Belgium and the Netherlands and clogging the streets with their tractors in other countries.

Farmers were also pelting the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, with eggs over many complaints from environmental regulation to excessive red tape.

At the same time, French farmers started lifting blockades after the government made further concessions to avoid a siege of Paris, while Belgian and Dutch farmers blocked motorway border crossings.

There were also actions in a host of countries, including Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Greece, Germany, and Portugal.

However, the farmers’ protests struck at the heart of the European Union when they rolled into Brussels on Thursday as leaders held a major summit on Ukraine. Once camped outside the parliament building, they lobbed eggs, blared their horns, and sparked fires.

Hungarian Prime Minister Vikt.or Orbán, who has faced a standoff with the EU over his perceived authoritarian style, has met with protesting farmers in Brussels to support what he called the “voice of the people.”

He said, “The voices of the people of the streets are not taken seriously by the leaders. It’s a democratic deficit.”

ORBAN STROLLING

In video footage Orbán shared and posted on social media, he could be seen strolling among tractors blocking the streets of Brussels and shaking hands with a demonstrator.

“There’s a European election in June. We need a new European Parliament. We have to find new leaders who really represent the people,” he added.

That was music to the ears of farmers who clogged roads around an EU summit with about 1,000 tractors.

Belgian farmers targeted border crossings with the Netherlands in Zandvliet, Meer, and Postel, causing delays, authorities said.

In France, farmers blocked major highways leading to Paris as well as the cities of Lyon and Toulouse. Dozens of farmers set up tents and lit fires to keep themselves warm as they attempted to shut off routes into the French capital.

At least 91 people were detained on Wednesday for obstructing traffic and causing damage near the Rungis market south of Paris, officials said, before an apparent compromise was reached.

Farmers’ costs – notably for energy, fertilizer, and transport – have risen in many EU countries, particularly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

CLIMATE CHANGE

“Climate change” and nitrogen requirements also led to increased costs for the agriculture sector.

At the same time, governments and retailers, mindful of the cost of living crisis’s effect on consumers, have moved to reduce food prices despite mounting expenses for farmers.

Farm-gate prices – the base price farmers receive for their produce – dropped by almost 9 percent on average between the third quarter of 2022 and the same period last year, according to Eurostat data, with only a few products – including olive oil, hit by shortages – bucking the trend.

Imports are also impacting farmers in central and eastern Europe due to a flood of cheap agricultural produce from Ukraine – on which the EU waived quotas and duties following Russia’s invasion.

That has depressed prices and increased resentment about what they see as unfair competition.

With the war continuing in Ukraine and elections coming up within the European Union, questions remained about when and if EU governments will meet all the demands of angry farmers.

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