Scuffles between Belgian farmers and police in front of European Council building

(26 Feb 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels - 26 February 2024
1. Protestors throwing eggs and firecrackers at police, police throwing tear gas
2. Tractor bringing concrete blocks in front of police line
3. Various of police using water canons on tractors
4. Wide of tractors
5. Various of tractors and water canons
6. Protestors throwing eggs
7. Tractor and water canon
STORYLINE:
Farmers clashed with police in Belgium on Monday, throwing eggs and moving barriers in front of a police line in a fresh show of force as European Union agriculture ministers met in search of ways to address their concerns.

Brussels police said that 900 tractors had entered the city, many bearing down on the European Council building where the ministers were meeting.

Smoke drifted through the air near where police in riot gear used water cannons to defend the EU's headquarters from behind concrete barriers and barbed wire.

The farmers are angry at red tape and competition from cheap imports from countries where the EU's relatively high standards do not have to be met.

They lined up scores of tractors down main roads leading to the city's European quarter, snarling traffic and blocking public transport.

A few tractors forced their way through one barrier, sending officers scurrying.

Some are lamenting what they see as the slow death of working the land.

At the start of the month, a similar demonstration turned violent as farmers torched hay bales and threw eggs and firecrackers at police near a summit of EU leaders.

The protests are the latest in a series of rallies and demonstrations by farmers across Europe.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with boos and whistles at the opening of the Paris Agricultural Fair by farmers who claim that he’s not doing enough to support them.

Spain, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have been hit by protests in recent weeks.

The movement has gathered pace as political parties campaign for Europe-wide elections on June 6-9. It’s already had results.

Earlier this month, the EU’s executive branch shelved an anti-pesticide proposal in a concession to the farmers, which make up an important voting constituency.

On the other side of the barriers in Brussels, the ministers were keen to show they’re listening.

The EU presidency, currently held by Belgium, acknowledged that the farmers’ concerns include the burden of respecting environmental policies, a drop in assistance from the bloc’s agricultural subsidy system and the impact of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s grain supplies.

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