Farmers set fire to piles of old tyres in Brussels on Monday in a protest to demand EU action on issues ranging from cheap supermarket prices to free trade deals, as agricultural ministers gathered to discuss the crisis in the sector.
Riot police fired water cannons to put out flames.
Over 100 tractors were parked around the European Union institutions’ headquarters, a short distance from the cordoned-off area where ministers were arriving for their meeting.
Farmers across Europe have staged weeks of protests to demand action from policymakers on an array of pressures they say the sector is under – from cheap supermarket prices to low-cost imports that undercut local producers, to strenuous EU environmental rules.
Ody, herself a farmer from Brittany, France, called on the EU to set up minimum support prices and exit free trade agreements that enable imports of cheaper foreign produce.
Demands also include ending free trade agreements, which farmers say have led to cheaper imports from countries where producers face less stringent environmental standards than those of the EU.
