Brussels, 27/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Even if they were unable to see it for themselves, the regular flights overhead of Belgian police helicopters over the last two days reminded Brussels inhabitants that dairy producers had chosen the capital of Europe to demonstrate their anger and concern. The European district and a number of the main arteries into the city were blocked by several dozen tractors on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 November.
At the start of the first day of demonstration, Agriculture and Sustainable Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos met producers to give them assurances that new ideas will be brought forward in mid-2013, ideas, he said, best suited to the realities of the dairy sector. He acknowledged at the same time, however, while there were, indeed, problems over quotas, these could not be resolved from one day to the next.
In the various convoys which converged on the Belgian capital from France, Germany and the Netherlands, the anger of demonstrators was down to one thing: the prices paid for their milk are lower than production costs. In this situation, dairy producers have only one demand: that the EU put in place various measures which will lift the price of milk over the crucial 40 eurocents per litre.
The measures called for by the European Milk Board (EMB), which represents dairy producers in Europe, have changed little over recent years. Indeed, the EMB is still using the same list of seven demands that it put forward in February 2009: flexibility in applying quotas, building in the criterion of sales price; putting in place reserve quotas; the option of leasing quotas; granting additional quotas in response to demand; retention of the 0.18 fat corrective factor; possible EU-wide levies funded by producers; withdrawal by immediate one-off purchase of surplus production.
Belgian media have said that 800 tractors and 2,000 demonstrators have taken to the streets of Brussels. A few incidents have been reported, including on the Place du Luxembourg, where demonstrators sprayed 15,000 litres of milk at the European Parliament and, collaterally, at the police officers there to maintain order. European Commission civil servants also had their work disrupted, after dairy farmers blocked access to the Berlaymont building car parks. (JK/transl.fl)