Fight back against the EU’s war on farming!

  • 11:30 Protest at Place du Luxemborg
  • 16:00 Speeches and networking at Thon Hotel EU, Rue De La Loi 75, Brussels

Wednesday, 24th January 2024

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This event is preceded by a protest at Place du Luxemborg at 11:30 by French farmers. Please join us there, ahead of the event at Thon EU. 

The agrarian fightback against the EU’s anti-farmer policies is gaining momentum. Recent months have seen protests from farmers across Europe. Now, it is the turn of French farmers, who head to the European Parliament on Wednesday 24th January to protest against tax hikes, the increased costs for fuel and animal feed, and the overzealous implementation of EU directives which are strangling farmers across the continent. 

Join us to stand in solidarity with farmers across Europe and hear directly from the French farmers who have had enough of the unholy alliance between the EU and national governments which sets out to destroy the rural way of life. 

Their fightback against the EU’s war on farming follows in the wake of the massive German farmers' protest of the past weeks. The protests, culminating in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, was broadcast across the world. Over 5,000 tractors and 30,000 people – including hauliers, restaurant owners, hunters and thousands of ordinary German people – were involved in the protest against the ongoing attack on farming and the rural way of life experienced by the people of Germany. A survey carried out by one of Berlin’s leading newspapers found that 65 per cent of those questioned stood on the side of the farmers.

The German protests follow similar protests in Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium to name only a few. On Tuesday French farmers joined the fray once more, with over 1000 tractors gathering in Toulouse to protest tax hikes and the increased costs for fuel and animal feed. This Wednesday the French farmers’ union Coordination Rurale will lead hundreds of French farmers to Brussels to protest outside the European Parliament. 

What farmers across Europe are realising is, despite important differences within countries, the fortunes of farmers across Europe suffer from a common problem: the EU’s overzealous green policies and disinterest in, if not disdain for, farmers and ordinary people living in rural communities. From ever increasing restrictions on fertiliser and pesticide use, to senseless requirements for farmland to be devoted to non-productive areas, and the huge administrative burden of demonstrating compliance with environmental regulations, the decrees of the EU are destroying the rural way of life. 

Join us to hear from farmers themselves about what they are fighting for, what they are up against, how the fightback is going and what you can do to support.

Welcome and chair: Philipp Siegert, Deputy Research Director, MCC Brussels

Greeting from: Patricia Chagnon MEP

Speakers:

  • Véronique Le Floc’h, president, Coordination Rurale 
  • Richard Schenk, research fellow, MCC Brussels; author MCC Brussels’ report, ‘The EU’s War on Farming’ 
  • Helen O Sullivan, co-founder, Irish Farmers Alliance 
  • Bart Dickens, president, Famers Defence Force Belgium 
  • Sieta van Keimpema, member, Famers Defence Force Board 

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