Why farmers across Europe are launching battles over wages, using grain sprinklers as weapons and shooting MANURE at the police

ANGRY farmers across Europe have taken to the streets, using grain sprinklers as cannons and throwing manure at police in protest over unfair wages.

By Belgium Unpleasant Greecefarmers have called for action against high costs, low product prices and strict green laws.

8

8

8

8

8

For weeks, frustrated farmers have taken to the streets of major European cities, blocking roads with their tractors in a desperate bid to be heard.

During the protests, angry farmers threw eggs and sprayed manure Police.

Footage of the protests shows police cars covered in hay, burning tires and destroying imported goods blocking the roads.

Farmers have demanded a change in EU regulations when it comes to restrictive green laws and cheap imported goods from countries like China Ukraine.

Belgium

At least 900 tractors blocked the streets of the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday as EU agriculture ministers met for talks.

Farmers out Belgium, Spain, Portugal And Italy have violently clashed with police, spraying officers with liquid fertilizer and setting tires on fire.

The protesters threw eggs and bottles at officers and set off fireworks, while police fired water cannons to push them back.

This is the second protest in Brussels in recent weeks with ‘ignored’ farmers calling for a change in restrictive European policies.

Marieke Van De Vivere, a Belgian farmer, told The Guardian: “We are being ignored.

“[Ministers should] be reasonable with us, come with us one day to work in the fields, or with the horses or with the animals, to see that it is not so easy… because of the rules they impose on us.

Farmers also complained about cheaper foreign goods flooding the market, making it impossible to compete.

According to EU regulations, farmers must adhere to strict rules and conditions under which they can grow products.

Meanwhile, products from non-EU countries are pumped full of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides banned in the EU.

Emmanuel Mathe, a French farmer, told the Guardian: “We have to deal with all these regulations and yet we have to deal with competition from goods from outside the EU that are simply not produced under the same conditions.”

POLAND

Bitter Polish farmers have dumped Ukrainian grain from a freight train as part of a protest against cheap food imports.

They also blocked a highway at a busy border Germanyand planned marches on Tuesdays.

Anti-Ukrainian sentiment is growing among Polish farmers as they demand a ban on Ukrainian grain and other goods, including meat, eggs and fruit.

After the Russian invasion Ukrainethe EU has lifted quotas and duties on Ukrainian agricultural products.

This move subsequently prompted angry Polish farmers to block cross-border roads from the border spring from 2023.

FRANCE

The French President, Emmanuel Macronbecame involved in the protests in Paris, France on February 24.

The French leader toured an agricultural fair as angry farmers shouted insults and blew whistles.

When Macron entered the fair’s livestock area, hundreds of protesters stormed through the gates and clashed with police.

Three people were arrested for causing disturbances but were later released, Paris prosecutors said.

Macron had met with the leaders of the three main farmers’ unions and listened to their complaints about bureaucracy, prices and state aid.

“I always prefer dialogue to confrontation,” Macron said.

“I’m telling you that work is being done on site, we are in the process of simplifying things.”

But the farmers were not impressed by his response. One of them told AFP: “Did you hear him? He doesn’t let us talk, he talks down to us. We want him to go away.”

SPAIN

Thousands marched through Madrid, Spain on Monday following a demonstration five days earlier in which 500 tractors entered the city.

Farmers blew whistles, rang cowbells and beat drums as they demanded the EU cut red tape.

They criticized the bureaucratic ‘monster policy’ that took up most of farmers’ time filling out paperwork.

Roberto Rodriguez, a farmer from Spain, said: “They want us to work in the fields during the day and do the paperwork at night – we are tired of bureaucracy.”

EU RESPONSE

Agriculture ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis in the sector.

Ministers discussed key concerns as protesters gathered outside.

They discussed simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), reducing the number of agricultural inspections and relaxing some green rules for smaller farms.

GermanyAgriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir said the average farmer spends a quarter of his time at his desk because of the EU’s ‘bureaucracy monster’.

David Clarinval, Belgium’s agriculture minister, urged protesters to refrain from violence and assured that their complaints had been heard.

Ireland’s Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue, stressed that their priority should be cutting red tape.

French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau added that meeting some of the demands would require a change in legislation.

He added that it did not matter whether the changes would be made before or after the European Union parliament elections, but there is a need to “move forward.”

‘We need something practical, something operational.

“We need to set a goal, lay the foundation for a CAP that reassures people,” he said.

In an attempt to appease farmers, the EU has already withdrawn from some aspects of its flagship Green Deal plan.

They have taken measures to reduce Ukrainian imports and have withdrawn law to reduce the use of pesticides, and postponed deadline for farmers to leave some land fallow to increase biodiversity.

8

8

8