European farmers’ protests on the table at European summit. Macron Thursday in talks with von der Leyen

Brussels – Total blockade of Brussels “in the coming days” to protest rising taxes and stringent EU policies. The Federation of Young Farmers of Belgium (FJA), as reported by Belgian Le Soir, is reportedly determined to block in the coming days with a protest a Belgian capital where, from Wednesday evening, the heads of state and government will meet in an informal dinner on the eve of the extraordinary European summit dedicated to the budget.

And right on the table of Thursday’s European Council will end up the instances of European farmers, brought by French President Emmanuel Macron who will hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. This was reported this afternoon (Jan. 29) by the Elysée Palace, pointing out that the talks will take place on the sidelines of the extraordinary summit and will focus in particular on the trade agreement being negotiated between the EU and Mercosur, on set-aside land imposed on farmers and the arrival of Ukrainian products in the Union.

The French head of state will also have the opportunity to discuss it “in different forms with all his colleagues,” the communiqué added, without further details, but hinting that the issue even if indirectly will end up in discussion on the sidelines of the European Council. “The president intervened on several occasions to express to the president of the European Commission his clear opposition to the conclusion of the agreement (Mercosur in its current state, ed.),” the Elysée stressed.

First Germany, then France, Belgium, and Italy. The farmers’ protests in Brussels come at a time when their colleagues and trade associations have been protesting for several days in various European countries, just months before the European elections and denouncing economic difficulties related to higher taxes and the implementation of environmental policies by the EU.

French farmers today continued paralysing with tractors the traffic and roads leading to Paris, despite having obtained last Friday the announcement by newly appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of some measures to meet their demands, as well as a promise to take the issue directly to Brussels. Attal confirmed that Macron in talks with von der Leyen will raise in particular the issue of the derogation of certain provisions of the CAP on non-productive areas: a derogation from the obligation stipulated for states to allocate 4 per cent of areas to non-cultivated lands that was urgently granted for 2022 and then for 2023, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A derogation that the Commission was not willing to extend further but on which it could change its mind, even if it means reworking the regulation on the strategic plans of the CAP and starting negotiations with the European Parliament. Another issue felt by French farmers is the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur bloc, which the European Commission has said it is determined to conclude by the summer and all free trade agreements with third countries. Attal said Friday that France will “reject treaties that are the law of the jungle for farmers.” Several negotiations are currently underway.

As for the protests that threaten to paralyze the European summit, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is trying to anticipate their moves and will receive representatives of farmers’ associations tomorrow afternoon, according to a statement from his cabinet, along with Federal Agriculture Minister David Clarinval. The mobilization of the sector is already causing disruptions to the road network in the south of the country, particularly at the entrance to Brussels, according to federal traffic police early Monday morning.