Protesting farmers in Brussels have reached concessions from the EU after demonstrations and unrest in the capital.
More than 1,000 tractors brought traffic to a standstill in part of Brussels as farmers threw eggs and stones at the European Parliament, lit fires near the building, and toppled a statue in protest against environmental rules and more help to deal with rising costs and taxes.
The statue is part of a memorial to John Cockerill - a British Belgian who helped the Industrial Revolution in Belgium, whom farmers probably mistook for someone associated with the EU. Protesters also set off fireworks to pressure a summit of European Union leaders to do more to support them.
Small groups tried to break down barriers erected outside parliament - a few blocks from where the summit was being held - but police fired tear gas and sprayed water on the farmers with hoses to push them away.
According to police estimates, the main thoroughfares in Brussels were blocked by around 1,300 tractors. Security officers dressed in riot gear guarded barriers at the venue where the leaders held their meeting at the European Council headquarters.
Farmers from Italy, Spain and other European countries took part in the demonstration in Brussels, as well as continuing their protests at home. In Portugal, farmers headed to the Spanish border in the early hours of the morning to block some of the road links between the two countries.
In France, farmers marched on the lower house of parliament in Paris, and drone footage showed a huge convoy of tractors on a highway near Josignau, while others blocked highways around the French capital.
Farmers say they are underpaid, stifled by taxes and environmental regulations, and face unfair competition from abroad.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would present plans to ease rules and red tape criticized by farmers who protested across Europe.
The head of the bloc's executive body said that a proposal "to reduce the administrative burden" will be presented at an upcoming meeting of EU ministers.
Von der Leyen stressed that Brussels is listening to farmers, especially after the bloc started a "strategic dialogue" with representatives of the European food sector.
The initiative, which was launched last week, will last several weeks and aims to find a consensus on the future of European agriculture in the next five to fifteen years.
"The goal is to jointly develop an idea, a vision, and a road map of how to achieve our common goals," von der Leyen said at a press conference after EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss aid to Ukraine.
Farmers' discontent includes the EU's negotiations with the South American bloc Mercosur, whose founding members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
They fear that any trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur will further lower the prices of their products and increase competition from exporting countries that are not bound by the EU's strict and expensive environmental laws.
Von der Leyen insists the European Union is aware of these concerns.
BGNES recalls that France's leading farmers' unions have called for an end to nationwide protests against pay, taxes, and regulations after receiving promises of financial and other aid from the government.
"We have decided to suspend the roadblocks and move to a new form of mobilization," Young Farmers (JA) chairman Arnaud Gaillot said at a press conference alongside Arnaud Russo, head of the largest rural trade union FNSEA, which is closely linked to JA. /BGNES
