Dutch farmers' organisation Agractie announced on Tuesday evening that its members will come to Brussels on Tuesday 16 April to protest the EU's new regulations surrounding manure. This will be the fourth time this year that farmers demonstrate in the Belgian capital.
The protest action was confirmed by Vice-President Alien van Zijtveld in a video message posted on YouTube. The group had already announced last week that it would be protesting in Brussels but had not confirmed a date. "We now can confirm that the date is Tuesday 16 April," van Zijtveld said in the video message. The protest comes one day before a special European Summit on 17 and 18 April.
Representatives of the group will meet with Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. "Here we will express the anger and desperation felt by farmers at this moment and how to go about the manure policy from our perspective."
Credit: Belga/Timon Ramboer
Van Zijtveld added that the farmers also have a demand a suspension to the so-called derogation decision, granted by the European Commission in 2022. This allows Dutch livestock farmers to spread more manure than regulations permit for a few more years, provided that vulnerable (wetland) areas reach healthy levels sooner.
However, the European Commission has stated that already the Netherlands is not complying with the conditions that come with the more lenient rules. But if the derogation expires, Agractie says it will have major consequences for farmers, not only in the dairy industry.
"Several agricultural parties have already pledged to join us to make a fist together. We are also calling on other agricultural parties to join us. Together we are strong."
Thursday 1 February saw more than 1,300 tractors occupy the European Quarter for a large-scale action that coincided with the EU summit. This was followed by another demonstration on 26 February. Tensions rose in the second protest, with farmers clashing with police. The third and last action on Tuesday 26 March, overlapped with a meeting of the European agriculture and fisheries ministers in Brussels. Again, the police had to intervene.
However, the City of Brussels/ Ixelles Police Zone told The Brussels Times that this demonstration will not involve farmers bringing their tractors into Brussels. "Instead, this will be a smaller, static demonstration."
