The farmers' protests of recent weeks in countries such as Germany, France and Belgium have found their way this Thursday in the extraordinary summit of European leaders to try to unblock Hungary's veto of aid to Ukraine, and cast shadows on the agreement with Mercosur. "We have to be able to discuss this issue in the Council because the concerns they have are partially legitimate," said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country holds the presidency of the EU Council this semester, upon his arrival at the summit.
Hundreds of farmers have been with their tractors in Brussels since early in the morning, where they have called rallies to protest against the decrease in income, environmental regulations, administrative overload or free trade agreements such as the one they have yet to conclude. the EU and Mercosur.
"The energy transition is a key priority for our societies, but we have to ensure that farmers can be partners in this. They have made incredible efforts in the last year, adapting to the new standards. We have a long road ahead and we have to "make sure they can be partners" in the transition, said De Croo, who met with representatives of Belgian farmers last Friday.
In his opinion, the EU must ensure that farmers receive "an adequate price for the quality products" they produce and that the administrative burden imposed on them by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is "reasonable." To appease the agricultural sector, the European Commission yesterday proposed repealing throughout 2024 the rule that forces farmers to keep part of their arable land fallow, a measure demanded by demonstrators protesting in several member states.
The Community Executive also proposed yesterday to extend for another year the trade advantages it grants to Ukraine to support its economy in the face of Russia's invasion, but introduced safeguards in case one or more countries see their agricultural markets affected.
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also referred to the agricultural protests upon her arrival at the summit, and asked the protesters to also express themselves at the polls. "To the farmers outside: we see you and we hear you. If you want your voice to be heard, make it heard also in June, when you vote for the European Parliament elections," said Metsola.
Upon arrival at the summit, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the EU-Mercosur agreement, currently in its final phase of negotiation, "cannot be ratified in its current form." In this way, Varadkar "echoed" the request recently launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, whose government has shown its determination to get the European Union to renounce negotiations with Mercosur under current conditions.
According to Varadkar, the leaders spoke last night at a dinner held at the European Council about the demands of farmers, who in recent weeks have multiplied their protests in several EU countries, such as Germany, France and Belgium. The leaders "understand the pressures our farmers are under with the increase in the price of fertilizers and the cost of energy, the new environmental regulations (…) I think the priority for us should be to implement the existing rules and not impose additional ones for the next two years," said the Irish politician.
At the moment, French transporters estimate the loss of income of their companies in recent days at 30% due to the farmers' blockades on dozens of highways and roads in the country, which have led to some of the trucks being stopped and They are causing delays elsewhere.
This is the panorama described this Thursday by the president of the Union of Transport and Logistics Companies of France (TLF), Éric Hémar, who in an interview with the France Info station has asked that "the constitutional freedom to be able to circulate" be respected. . Until this Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior indicated that there were a hundred cuts in the country's road and highway network, including eight of the main access routes to Paris.
This morning, about 200 tractors have entered the A9 motorway south of Perpignan and have cut off traffic in the north-south direction as they head to the Le Boulou tollbooth, next to the La Jonquera border crossing with Spain, where they intend to establish control and verify the load of trucks entering France.
During these two weeks of protests, the loads of several Spanish trucks, particularly with fruits, vegetables and wine, have been vandalized by French farmers, who denounce what they believe is unfair competition.
The wave of discontent sweeping through the European agricultural sector has also reached Spain. The main organizations in the sector, Asaja, COAG and UPA, as well as the Catalan Unió de Pagesos, have announced mobilizations in several autonomous communities to demand a shock plan from the Spanish Government, the autonomies and the EU in the face of the crisis that the countryside is experiencing. .
The first protests began this Tuesday, with a spontaneous tractor-trailer that toured the center of Zamora. The Union of Peasants of Castilla y León has called concentrations for February 6 and in Catalonia, Unió de Pagesos is preparing marches and highway cuts for February 13, in addition to actions in the port of Tarragona against imports of merchandise that, they consider , they make “unfair competition to Catalan products.” Other communities will also experience protests next month.
