Hundreds of farmers on tractors from several European countries gathered in Brussels on Tuesday 4 June to protest against the European Green Deal and free trade agreements, in response to a call from the controversial Farmers Defence Force (FDF).
The police reportedly counted 1,200 demonstrators and 500 tractors at the foot of the Atomium.
The FDF, founded in the Netherlands in 2019, has been at the forefront of protests against the Dutch government’s environmental policy since 2022. It is regarded as a movement close to the extreme right by farming associations and unions, which did not join the demonstration.
From Romania, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Italy, a dozen figures, including elected representatives, spoke to the demonstrators.
The EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) asked their members not to take part in the events.
The co-Spitzenkandidat of the European Green Party, Bas Eickhout, congratulated the main farmers’ organisations for “staying away from this far-right event”. “We are here to propose real solutions, such as changing the fact that 80% of European subsidies go to the richest 20% of farms”, he commented.
Demonstrations by European farmers in early 2024 prompted the EU to adopt measures relaxing the cross-compliance requirements for direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (see EUROPE 13420/7).
Elsewhere, French and Spanish farmers have put an end to the blockade of cross-border crossing points that they had been occupying to demand cheaper energy. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)