Over 10,000 agricultural producers from 27 countries took part in a large-scale protest in Brussels to categorically state their disagreement with the policies of the European Commission, which threaten the stability and future of European agriculture, announced the National Association of Grain Producers in Bulgaria.
The protest began with an organized gathering of national delegations on a central boulevard in the Belgian capital, with Bulgarian farmers being part of a common group together with the Visegrad Four countries. The procession moved to a square where a stage was set up and representatives of all delegations addressed their messages to the European institutions and the citizens of Europe.
From the protest stage, the chairman of the National Association of Grain Producers, Iliya Prodanov, made a clear appeal:
„We are here to say no to the policies of the European Commission.
No to hypocrisy. No to the agreement with Mercosur. No to the idea of a single fund. We want stability for our farms. We want to survive. We want our children's future to be secure.
Without farmers, there is no Europe!“
After the statements, the protest grew into a large-scale procession that lasted about two and a half - three hours and passed near key European institutions. Thousands of farmers, agricultural equipment and machinery participated in the demonstration, and the protest attracted the attention and support of residents and guests of Brussels.
During the day, representatives of Copa-Cogeca entered into a meeting with the European Commission, at which the main demands of the farmers were put forward. The results of the talks are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Among the key topics on which farmers are demanding clarity and solutions are:
· the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and its preservation as an independent fund;
· adequate financing of agriculture in the next Multiannual Financial Framework;
· the content and consequences of the trade agreement with Mercosur;
· trade with third countries and equal treatment of European farmers;
· the need to rethink the regime for importing agricultural products from Ukraine.
The protest in Brussels sent a clear message to European leaders: there can be no green policy, no food security, and no sustainable Europe without its farmers.