European farmers are unhappy with rising agricultural costs, environmental regulatory policies and free** agreements.
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Agriculture has spread to many European countries. French peasants drove tractors into the capital, Paris, claiming to "surround" Paris. About 80 people have been arrested in Paris. Farmers from Germany, Belgium, Italy and other places also joined the campaign.
According to Europe**, European farmers are unhappy with rising agricultural costs, environmental regulatory policies and free ** agreements. According to the trade unions, the EU's free** agreements with other countries have led to unfair competition between local produce and low-priced imports.
France** and the European Commission have already made small concessions under pressure from farmers. France** pledged that it would oppose the signing of a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur in order to protect the interests of its farmers. The European Commission has proposed to restrict the import of Ukrainian agricultural products. In addition, analysts say Europe's far-right forces could benefit from the European Parliament elections in June.
About 80 people were arrested in Paris.
Recently, French farmers blocked a number of main roads in and out of Paris with tractors, burned tires on the road, and poured manure on the ** building. The French peasants declared that they wanted to "besiege" Paris and other major cities.
On January 31, local time, France** sent armored vehicles to protect the Rungis wholesale market in Paris. The market is the center of French agricultural products, and it has become a symbolic location for the country's agricultural industry, with many farmers driving hundreds of kilometers in tractors to demonstrate here.
On the same day, Paris said it had arrested about 80 people near the Rungis wholesale market. Allegedly, some people broke into the market's warehouses and caused damage there.
French Interior Minister Darmanin said activity on the highway would be tolerated, but farmers would not be allowed to block the airport and the Rungis wholesale market. He said that about 100 roads or locations have been blocked.
On January 29, 2024 local time, near Paris, France, French farmers who had been demonstrating for many days announced that they would "besiege" Paris. Figure ic photo
In addition to France, agricultural activity has also been seen elsewhere in Europe. Belgian farmers drove tractors into the heart of Brussels, the capital and the headquarters of the European Union. According to the local road on January 31, tractors can be seen around the European Parliament, and police officers are on guard around the buildings of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
A spokesman for the Belgian port of Antwerp said that farmers had begun blocking roads in and out of the port of Antwerp, and freight trucks were blocked. The Port of Antwerp is the largest port in Belgium and the second largest in Europe.
Luca Mouton, a Belgian farmer, told the local**: "EU leaders have to think about the farmers and talk to the farmers. We are open to dialogue. "On February 1, local time, the European Union held a special summit in Brussels, and the agenda of the meeting focused on aid to Ukraine, migration issues, etc., and did not involve farmers. But Europe** said that EU leaders seemed to have to discuss the peasant issue.
In Germany, farmers drive tractors to block major roads and ports, etc., to cut agricultural subsidies; In Italy, hundreds of tractors blocked highway entrances and exits in Milan, Tuscany and other places for many days; Farmers in Spain have indicated that they will also join the campaign.
The will of the peasants is very strong, beyond people's imagination. Arnaud Rousseau, head of the French Peasant Union, said. Farmers have accumulated a lot of grievances, and they are demanding that environmental regulations be relaxed and farmers protected from rising costs and cheap imports.
EU farmers are worried about foreign agricultural products hitting the market.
According to Europe**, the EU has signed or is working on a number of freedom** agreements in recent years aimed at facilitating the flow of goods and services. But farmers in the European Union say apples from Chile, grains from Brazil and beef from Canada will flood European markets, affecting their livelihoods.
Among them, the draft agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, an organization composed of South American countries, has attracted the most attention. Farmers in France are particularly concerned about the impact the agreement could have on the country's agriculture.
According to the draft, MERCOSUR countries can export 9. per year to the EU90,000 tons of beef, 100,000 tons of poultry and 180,000 tons of sugar, with no or very low tariffs. In exchange, tariffs on many EU goods entering Mercosur will also be reduced.
At the same time, the EU is urging farmers in EU member states to apply sustainable agricultural production methods and technologies, which are seen as driving up the cost of agricultural production. French farmers say they will face unfair competition from South American farmers if the EU opens its doors to South American agricultural products. "They can use growth-promoting drugs on livestock, but this is banned in the EU. A French farmer said.
Farmers in some other EU member states have also said that their incomes have been squeezed by taxes and green agriculture regulatory rules, and now they face unfair competition from other countries.
On February 1, 2024 local time, in Brussels, Belgium, farmers from several European countries held demonstrations. Figure ic photo
The European Commission issued a notification on January 24 that negotiations between the EU and Mercosur could be completed "before the end of the current term", that is, around June this year. Immediately after receiving the news, the Farmers' Union and the French Farmers' Union called for an immediate halt to negotiations on such an agreement.
Hervé Fabry, a senior researcher at the Institut Jacques Delors, a French think tank, told Mercosur that the free agreement between the EU and Mercosur aims to reduce tariffs on both sides and also promote EU standards in intellectual property protection, geographical indications and sustainable development. EU member states react differently to the FTA, with Germany strongly supporting an agreement with Mercosur as it benefits the export of German industrial goods.
Veronica Marcheso, secretary general of the French Cooperative Association of Farmers, said that the EU used the interests of farmers as a bargaining chip in the negotiations on the free agreement, in exchange for the export of cars and Airbus aircraft, and farmers were dissatisfied with this.
The European Commission has proposed to restrict the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.
Both France and the European Commission have made some concessions under pressure from farmers.
France** recently said it would abandon plans to gradually reduce subsidies for agricultural diesel. The French Ministry of Agriculture also announced that it will offer wine producers 2An additional subsidy of 300 million euros.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal also pledged that France would oppose the signing of a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also said that France does not want to sign a free trade agreement with Mercosur in its current form, at least, because there is no way to ensure that Mercosur's agricultural products meet EU standards. The agreement must be unanimously agreed by all EU member states before it can be adopted.
On January 31, local time, the European Commission also promised to accede to some of the demands made by farmers, including restricting the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.
The European Commission has proposed to impose an "emergency brake" on agricultural products such as poultry, eggs and sugar imported from Ukraine, and tariffs will be imposed on the excess if EU imports from Ukraine in 2024 exceed the average of 2022 and 2023.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU has exempted Ukrainian agricultural imports from tariffs, and Ukraine's low-priced agricultural products have had an impact on the EU market, leading to dissatisfaction among EU farmers. However, the European Commission's proposal for an "emergency brake" on Ukrainian agricultural products still needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and unanimously agreed by EU member states before it can take effect.
In addition, the agricultural activities that have spread to many countries in the European Union may affect the European Parliament elections to be held in June. European political analysts say Europe's far-right is exploiting the anger of farmers. Because the far right advocates policies such as protectionism, it is attractive among the EU's 9 million farmers. "If the far right were to take power throughout Europe, it would most likely come on a tractor. An analyst wrote.