Laura van Lerberghe / Photo credits: JULIEN WARNAND / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP
After France, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, farmers’ anger is growing in Belgium. On Friday, a highway was blocked by demonstrators, and kilos of grain were dumped in front of the party headquarters of the Minister of Agriculture. Tension is rising, and the Belgian agricultural world is demanding action.
Farmers’ anger does not stop at France’s borders. Lithuania, Germany, Romania and Poland are also affected and the protest movement is spreading across Europe. From now on, discontent is growing in Belgium, particularly in Wallonia where farmers are also starting to make themselves heard.
In the south of the country, thousands of town signs have been turned over, symbol of a system which, according to farmers, is “going on its head”. On Friday, a snail operation was organized. Around a hundred tractors blocked access to a motorway and denounced soaring prices, unfair competition with non-European products and even overly demanding environmental standards. “The French, the Dutch are hot, it’s our turn, we have to go,” insists a demonstrator.
Lobby at European level
In Brussels, around forty farmers dumped kilos of cereals in front of the party headquarters of the Minister of Agriculture. To put pressure on the European level, several agricultural federations met the Belgian Minister of Agriculture. “We have been heard. Now, we are waiting for action. If there are no action, we will move, that’s for sure,” assures Florian Poncelet, president of the Young Farmers’ Federation.
According to information from Europe 1, actions are expected from Sunday across the country.