NOSThe farmers’ protest in Brussels this morning
NOS News•today, 08:06•Changed today, 10:34
A large farmers’ protest is taking place in Brussels around the EU summit that is taking place there today. The mainly Belgian farmers want to paralyze the entire city with their action to put pressure on the EU leaders. They campaign for better prices and less bureaucracy. Police say around a thousand tractors were counted in the capital early this morning.
There are demonstrators at the European Parliament building, among other places.
Images show fireworks being shot at the building:
Farmers throw eggs and fireworks at the European Parliament building
Expecting problems all day long
There are traffic jams due to tractors on the inner and outer rings of Brussels and convoys of tractors are also driving on the highways towards the Belgian capital. The authorities expect major traffic problems throughout the day, not only in and around Brussels but also in cities such as Ghent and Liège.
Because of the European summit, part of the European district was already closed. The police warn of traffic problems throughout the Brussels region and advise people to use public transport.
On the road from Paris to Brussels, ‘Ursula, we are here’ is painted in large yellow letters, a message addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At today’s EU summit, agricultural policy is not formally on the agenda, but it will probably be discussed.
Farmers protest with more than a thousand tractors at the EU summit in Brussels
NOS reporter Jozephine Trehy was at Luxemburgplein in Brussels this morning. That is the epicenter of the actions, right next to the European Parliament. “The EU summit is not there, but the protests are here,” she says NOS Radio 1 News. “The entire square is full, there is a large fire in the middle. The European Parliament is closed off, there are a lot of riot police and eggs and beer bottles have just been thrown. Many fireworks are also being set off. The police have started deploying. of a water cannon, but still on the very soft setting.”
A farmer has opened his manure cart on the square. According to some farmers on the square, the fact that the police have so far been cautious about intervening has to do with the lack of officers. “They don’t have enough men to stop us,” one of them thinks. “It’s best to let us do our thing, otherwise things will escalate. Farmers support each other in every way and will go through fire for each other. If the rules continue like this, there will be no future for us within the next ten years.” in Flanders.”
Environmental regulations and subsidies
Belgian farmers have been blocking major roads and highways for days in protest against strict environmental regulations and the abolition of subsidies. For example, the Brussels ring road was also blocked on Monday.
The Belgian action group Boerenforum expects that the focus of the actions will increasingly shift from roadblocks to blockades of supermarket distribution centers in the coming days, spokesperson Tijs Boelens told broadcaster VRT. “We want to hit the groups that leave us out in the cold. A supermarket chain that offers the lowest prices hurts our skin.”
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NOS
The farmers’ protest in Brussels this morning
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NOS
The farmers’ protest in Brussels this morning
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NOS
The farmers’ protest in Brussels this morning
Worried about the future
“We are not angry farmers, but concerned farmers,” says Boelens. “We are concerned about our future and that of our children. The guilty parties are in the European Parliament. It is true that we have to take care of the climate, animal welfare and the environment. But you can also do that by supporting us.”
Belgian farmers are strengthened by farmers’ actions in surrounding countries. Farmers from the Netherlands and France may also come to Belgium today to support the actions.
2024-02-01 07:06:06
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