The ministers of the 27 will debate how to ensure rapid, but also structural, responses to the problems experienced by farmers and that have triggered the protests.
Several dozens of tractors They entered early this Monday in the historic center of Brusselsincluding the Grand Place, sounding their horns, while hundreds more advancing towards the capital are expected to take over the European Quarter coinciding with the meeting of European Agriculture Ministers.
The farmers, who staged a similar mobilization on the 1st when a summit of European leaders was being held, are protesting against the drop in their income, environmental regulations, administrative overload or free trade agreements such as the one they have yet to conclude. the European Union and Mercosur.
According to the Brussels police, the protesters who are moving in several columns on motorways and national roads towards the capital are expected to enter mainly through the streets of Mons, Leuven and Tervueren, which is why they have multiplied the warnings to advise against using the car and opt for public transport. Several tunnels on the city ring road are closed.
This new protest has marked the agenda of the agriculture ministers of the 27, who will debate today on proposals and measures to respond to the situation in the sector and try to quell the protests. They do so, as they admit in a statement, “given the urgency of the situation.”
As they advance from 27, adopting legislative measures is not planned on the agenda. The intention is to debate “a roadmap for the future”maintain “a frank exchange and identify what can be done.”
At today’s meeting the ministers of each country will present their proposals. They will analyze the possibilities of quick response to streamline bureaucratic proceduresas well as structural responses, medium and long term“not only in the financial field, but also in terms of its position in the food chain,” the EU said in a statement.
Last Thursday, the European Commission presented a battery of short and medium-term measures that ministers will debate this Monday. Among what is proposed by Brussels is simplifying the methodology of certain controls, with the aim of reducing the number of visits to farms by national administrations by up to 50%.
Furthermore, in recent weeks the Community Executive has announced other measures in response to the protests, such as withdrawing the bill to reduce the use of pesticides, the partial repeal of fallow during 2024 or introducing safeguards to react to Ukrainian imports.
Source: Eitb
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