Halle, Belgium –
Farmers on Wednesday continued to press for concessions to get better prices for their produce and cut red tape, further blocking transport arteries across Belgium in an attempt to disrupt trade at major ports.
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 to listen to what they have to say,” Decroo said. “They face huge challenges,” he said, including adapting to climate change and combating environmental pollution.
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.