The stench of manure, melting tires and foul-smelling teargas spread through downtown Brussels on Monday morning, Feb. 26, as furious farmers surrounded the European Union's headquarters. (Related: EU farmers push back against green agenda: "Why does Brussels hate us?")
The protest corresponds with a meeting of the bloc's agriculture ministers.
The farmers are voicing their anger over the EU's catastrophic green policies. Videos posted on X show hundreds of Belgian farmers on tractors blocking roadways around the European Council building.
Reports said farmers are angry about governmental obstacles, trade agreements, climate-connected rules and attempts to bring Ukraine's dump cheap grain onto markets.
"There is a clear problem with the reduction of the import tariffs for Ukraine and massive imports of grain and poultry which depresses the prices," stated Guillaume Van Binst, secretary general of the Federation of Young Farmers.
"The measures proposed by the commission are very weak and it is more passing the hot potato to member states," Guillaume added.
Brussels protest is the most recent in a series of demonstrations by farmers in Europe
The protest is the most recent in a series of demonstrations by farmers across numerous EU countries, including France, Italy and Spain. Blue-collar people are also angry about crashing incomes and raised inflation.
At the same time, EU leaders are struggling to alleviate this ticking timebomb of social unrest scattering across the coalition. They are taking steps to lessen red tape and postpone some green rules.
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"It can always go more quickly, but we're already working faster than usually. One can understand the anger of the farmers. One can also understand that some are in a difficult situation. But aggression has never been a source of solutions," David Clarinval, Belgium's agriculture minister, said in a media interview Monday.
Meanwhile, Brussels police said 900 tractors had entered the city, several coming up on the European Council building where the ministers were meeting. Smoke floated through the air near where police in riot gear protected behind concrete barriers and barbed wire, firing tear gas and water cannons at the protesting farmers.
Dozens of tractors also joined up down main roads leading to the city's European quarter, blocking traffic and hindering public transport. Several tractors forced their way through barriers, sending officers running.
Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden asked police to identify "rioters" who harm people or disregarded instructions from officers. "The right to protest is dear to us so it must be used with respect," Verlinden posted on X.
At the beginning of the month, a comparable demonstration turned violent with farmers burning hay bales and throwing eggs and firecrackers at police near a summit of EU leaders.
Some of the tractors were covered with signs mourning what farmers see as the slow death of working the land. "Agriculture. As a child you dream of it, as an adult you die of it," said one farmer.
"We are getting ignored," Marieke Van De Vivere, a farmer from the Ghent region in northern Belgium, told the Associated Press.
Van De Vivere urged the ministers "to be reasonable to us, to come with us on a day to work on the field, or with the horses or with the animals, to see that it is not very easy … because of the rules they put on us."
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, Feb. 24, was greeted with boos and whistles at the start of the Paris Agricultural Fair by farmers who allege that he is not doing enough to help them.
Spain, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have also been hit by protests in the past few weeks.
The movement has gained stride as political parties campaign for Europe-wide elections between June 6-9. Early this month, the EU's executive branch suspended an anti-pesticide proposal in a compromise to the farmers who make up a significant portion of the electorate.
Beyond the barriers in Brussels, the ministers are eager to show that they are listening, and a group of farmers' representatives are permitted in for talks.
The EU presidency, currently held by Belgium, recognized that the farmers' concerns include the burden of respecting environmental policies, a decline in assistance from the alliance's agricultural subsidy system and the effect of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's grain supplies.
"We understand that this situation is difficult. The 27 member states are firm in saying that things cannot remain as they are. It's necessary to take rapid measures as well as measures in the longer term at the European level," Clarinval said.
Follow Revolt.news for more stories about farmer protests happening in Europe.
Watch the video below about the farmers surrounding the EU Commission in Brussels to protest against the net zero goal.
This video is from the The HighWire with Del Bigtree channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Farmer rebellion spreads to PARIS where tractors are creating blockades to protest climate insanity.
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