Farmers Fight Back Across Europe

Farmers in countries across Europe have continued to stage protests including blocking roads and toppling statues, after politicians attempted to offer measures to quell the outrage over recent efforts to regulate the industry.

Footage shows farmers in the Netherlands lighting fires and playing music near the border with Belgium, while in Brussels demonstrators took a chainsaw to a tree and lit farm waste on fire outside the European Parliament building.

Meanwhile, on Thursday night, Irish farmers came out to protest in support of their European agricultural workers. One demonstrator expressed support for French farmers, saying the industry was being "absolutely decimized [sic] by the politicians [and] the green agenda" which were "demonizing farmers."

It follows weeks of protests that have targeted government institutions and key motorways, including spraying manure on administrative buildings and blocking roads with hay bales.

While there is a certain amount of overlap in the grievances of farmers in different countries—relating to recent regulatory changes, bureaucracy and imports—some are protesting nation-specific issues, such as cuts to diesel subsidies and free-trade deals.

The demonstrations have prompted lawmakers to rethink agricultural policies. The European Union on Wednesday delayed the implementation of a new rule that would require farmers to set aside four percent of their land from crop production to improve soil health and biodiversity, which is in crisis.

The European Commission—the EU's executive branch—has also pledged to cut red tape and protect farmers from cheaper Ukrainian imports. A common complaint is that, since the EU lifted tariffs on Ukrainian goods in the wake of the Russian invasion, domestic farmers have been undercut and unable to sell their goods.

"I am very sensitive to the message that farmers are concerned by administrative burden," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a meeting of the European Council on Thursday.

Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson on trade and agriculture, told Newsweek that it "is listening closely to the concerns expressed by farmers in protests currently taking place in several [member states]."

Noting it had committed more than €300 billion ($323.8 billion) for supporting farmers across the bloc until 2027, he said: "It's clear that farming is not an activity like any other in our society, and our support is commensurate with the contribution of European farmers to our food sovereignty.

"The Commission meets regularly with farmers' representative organizations as well as stakeholders from all sections of the EU agri-food chain. Thanks to this strong and consistent engagement we are aware of issues and concerns at the earliest stage, and we maintain a dynamic two-way dialogue with these organizations to inform our work."

But it remains unclear whether the latest steps will be enough to stop farmers taking to the streets.

Newsweek approached FNSEA, France's largest farmers' union, Deutscher Bauernverband, the German agricultural industry's representative body, and Coldiretti Alessandria, an Italian farmers' union, via email for comment on Friday.

Two farming unions in France called off protests after the government said it would stop a trade deal with Mercosur, a South American trading bloc, and seek an exemption to the new EU rule, Reuters reported.

However, on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said "new support measures" would be announced soon, in an apparent acknowledgement that the concessions so far had not gone far enough.

Other European leaders have also offered a conciliatory tone to the demonstrators. "Don't demonize the farmers. Don't send the army on them. But talk to them," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Italian President Giorgia Meloni criticized the EU approach, saying: "Environmental sustainability cannot be exchanged for economic and social sustainability."

"In relation to the specific concerns outlined by farmers at the present time, the Commission is assessing possible next steps," Gill said. "In this context, it's important to make a distinction between possible short-term responses and responses which address more complex, longer-term issues."

He noted that the European Commission was considering renewing its suspension of import duties on Ukrainian goods while implementing measures to prevent significant market disruptions.