Spraying manure and throwing beets, farmers in tractors again block Brussels to protest EU policies
Farmers are throwing beets and spraying manure at police as hundreds of tractors have sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters
BRUSSELS — Farmers threw beets and sprayed manure at police on Tuesday as hundreds of tractors again sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters, where agriculture ministers sought to ease a crisis that has led to months of protests across the 27-member bloc.
The farmers are protesting what they see as excessive red tape and unfair trading practices as well as increased environmental measures and cheap imports from Ukraine. “Let us make a living from our profession,” read one billboard on a tractor blocking a main thoroughfare littered with hay, potatoes, eggs and manure.
As the protests turned into violence, police used tear gas and water cannons to keep farmers and some 250 tractors at bay, even as the ministers met to push through measures meant to calm the crisis. Authorities asked commuters to stay out of Brussels and work from home as much as possible.
With protests taking place from Finland to Greece, Poland and Ireland, the farmers have already won concessions from EU and national authorities, from a loosening of controls on farms to a weakening of pesticide and environmental rules.
A major EU plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how the protests have had a deep influence on politics.
«In order to have a strong Europe, there is a need for a strong agriculture. So we are here to remind them that their farmers should be a priority,” said Belgian farmer Yolin Targé. “We have to deal with a lot of administrative tasks. We have to deal with a lot environmental
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