Farmers are blocking key roads to Dutch-Belgian borders and occupied roads in Greece in protest over prices and red tape spread. A Polish union announced plans to shut border crossings with Ukraine as European protests spread across Europe.
Reuters reports protests have erupted in several countries, exposing anger about low prices for produce, rising costs, cheap imports, and constraints imposed by the EU's drive to fight climate change.
French farmers began lifting blockades in response to the government's concessions, yet Belgian and Dutch farmers maintained their blockades at motorway border crossings.
At one roadblock, Dutch pig farmer Johan Van Enckevort, 25, warned the European Union and Dutch politicians holding cabinet talks not to ignore the needs of farmers.
"We have very nice products here in the EU and we want to continue to make those products. But it has to be done in a fair way, in a decent way, and not with so many rules. It just can't go on like this," he said.
The Associated Press notes that Belgian farmers, with the backing of Dutch allies, implemented roadblocks causing congestion on vital transportation routes for freight from major European ports like Antwerp and Rotterdam. The disruptions followed a chaotic Thursday in Brussels, where angry farmers set hay bales ablaze and clashed with police, coinciding with a summit of European Union leaders.
Meanwhile, the French government offered over 400 million euros ($436 million) in various measures as they gradually eased blockades around Paris and other areas of France. In Germany, however, lawmakers approved cuts to fuel subsidies for farmers, who have prompted angry protests there.
Prime Minister of Belgium's Flemish region, Jan Jambon, pledged to help the agriculture sector.
"We are going to see what we can reasonably do. But basically, I have a lot of sympathy for their complaints. We are now going to see how we can make that concrete," he told Belgian broadcaster VTM.
The AP went on to say that farmers are complaining about the mounting difficulties in securing a decent income, citing surging energy and fertilizer costs resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine.
Additionally, the influx of more affordable farm imports into Europe and the damaging consequences of climate change-induced droughts, floods, or fires add to the woes, impacting crop yields.
Many EU leaders made it clear they would not approve a potential trade deal with South American nations unless imported goods comply with the regulatory standards faced by EU farmers, marking a key demand from the agricultural sector.
