Another farmers’ protest in Brussels planned for Monday

Farmers are planning another protest next Monday (26 February), aiming to mobilise in Brussels at the Schuman roundabout from 11.00.

The protest will take place on the sidelines of a meeting of European agriculture ministers and tractors will be present.

Farmers are unhappy with the recent decisions taken by the European Commission in response to their protests in early February, which were done to draw attention to issues the sector says it is facing: too much red tape, not enough profit and worries about the financial sustainability of family farms.

The Fédération Wallonne de l'Agriculture (FWA), Boerenbond, MAP, the Fédération des Jeunes Agriculteurs (FJA) and the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) confirmed their participation in next Monday’s action, though there are not yet any details on the number of demonstrators expected.

The federations are calling for an end to free trade agreements, a halt to negotiations on the EU-Mercosur agreement, and a guarantee of a strong Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to support agro-ecological practices.

“In response to the latest farmers' protests, the Commission has decided to put an end to measures and legislation aimed at protecting the environment and biodiversity,” the ECVC said in a press release.

“Once again, EU policymakers have failed to listen to the voice of the majority of farmers, preferring instead to put forward proposals designed to appease the interests of agribusiness.”

Farmers across Belgium and elsewhere in Europe have been taking action in the past few weeks to express their discontent.

Processions of tractors have caused major traffic disruptions and grocery store shelves were often empty as a result of blockades at distribution centres.

“Different policy levels have already proposed measures and we will now initially see what that brings in concrete terms in the coming weeks,” said Boerenbond spokeswoman Elisabeth Mertens.