Transport arteries across Belgium have been disrupted by farmers, who continue to demand concessions to get better prices for their produce and reduce bureaucracy, disrupting trade at major ports in a fourth day of protests. It’s more blocked than ever.
HALLE, Belgium — Farmers continued to push for concessions to get better prices for their produce and reduce bureaucracy, disrupting trade at major ports, and more raids across Belgium took place on Wednesday. Traffic arteries were blocked.
The rallies, now in their fourth day, are part of agricultural protests across the European Union, but hundreds of tractors disrupting traffic in just a few across the U.S., a country of 11.5 million people. A hundred cars. Hundreds of thousands of Belgians have faced disruption, with difficulty getting to work and having their doctor’s appointments canceled due to the protests.
Farmers also plan to stage a protest in front of EU headquarters during Thursday’s government summit. In neighboring France, protesting farmers showered government buildings with fertilizer and surrounded Paris with barricades, creating traffic jams with tractors and hay bales.
Despite the widespread inconvenience, Prime Minister Alexander de Croo’s government is treating the protests, which have been largely peaceful, with great care.
“It’s important that we listen to their voices. They face huge challenges, such as adapting to climate change and tackling pollution,” said Decroo.
Belgium currently holds the EU presidency, and Decroo said he would address the issue during the summit as a late addition to the agenda, which centered on providing aid to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion nearly two years ago.