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full screen A tractor equipped with a coffin – to emphasize the vulnerable situation of agriculture – during farmers’ protests in Brussels at the beginning of February. Archive image. Photo: Thomas Padilla/AP/TT
New honking awaits as angry farmers once again gather in Brussels. The EU is trying to counter with simpler rules and reduced control.
Large demonstrations are promised when the EU countries’ agriculture ministers gather on Monday to discuss what can be done to ease the farmers’ situation.
The EU Commission has put forward a list of all kinds of measures – for example to halve the number of checks on farms and reduce the risk of double punishment, as misreporting can otherwise lead to both fines and reduced support.
“We are easing the administrative burden on our farmers to help them ensure food safety,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press release last week.
Above all from the far right, the EU’s climate measures have been singled out as part of the cause of the farmers’ problems. Environmental activists instead try to direct the criticism towards large companies and powerful organizations in the food and chemical industry.
“These are the parties that maintain the support system and rules that only favor the largest and most industrial farms,” says Marco Contiero of Greenpeace in a statement.
At the same time, small farmers, the far right and environmental activists have a common enemy in the free trade agreements that are disliked by all three.