The center of Brussels has turned into a battlefield between angry farmers and the police, while the bloc’s agriculture ministers are meeting at the headquarters of the European Union.
Today’s demonstration involves agricultural unions from Wallonia and Flanders (southern and northern Belgium), as well as farmers from France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Luxembourg.
Among the farmers’ main demands, which they say have not yet been heard, are: fair incomes, a reduction in administrative burdens, an end to free trade agreements and an increase in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget.
Farmers tried to approach the EU building, threw oranges and set tires on fire as Belgian police responded with chemicals and water cannons.
See images:
Greece wants changes to the CAP
The Minister of Rural Development and Food Lefteris Avgenakis is in Brussels, who will participate in the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the EU.
Before the start of the council, Mr. Avgenakis stated:
“The debate on changes to CAP 23-27, changes both technical and structural, has opened. It has opened much – much earlier than some expected. And this is the result of a real need. The Greek government embraces these needs, we support them and highlight them in every way and at every level in the alliances we have or create.
We come to Brussels today, carrying the cry of anguish of our farmers, not only Greek farmers, European farmers. We work in concert, we submit comprehensive technical proposals to improve the CAP, but we also work through the alliances we build for structural changes. We are optimistic about the result.”
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