Farmers will protest in Brussels, where EU ministers will discuss agricultural imports from Ukraine

On Tuesday, farmers will bring their tractors to Brussels, while EU agriculture ministers will meet to find a way to calm them down and decide what the EU should do with Ukrainian agricultural imports. This was reported by the DPA news agency.

For several weeks, angry farmers have been blocking roads and protesting in front of government offices across Europe, including the EU headquarters in Brussels.

Their actions have already had an effect. The European Commission has postponed a controversial fertilizer ban and proposed to ease the conditions for accessing subsidies under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

Farmers rely on EU subsidies to keep them in business, but the payments are contingent on compliance with strict environmental regulations. The European Commission proposed to relax land use and crop rotation rules on March 15.

There is a long process ahead before the proposed changes will be incorporated into EU law – the European Parliament and EU member states still have to agree on the amendments together.

Another issue that will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting is the reintroduction of EU tariffs on certain agricultural imports from Ukraine, such as eggs, poultry, corn, and honey.

The EU lifted tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural imports in 2022 to support the Ukrainian economy after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

But farmers in the EU have complained about the sharp rise in Ukrainian imports. They say they want protection from alleged unfair competition because Ukrainian farmers can produce food at lower costs – not least because they do not have to comply with EU rules.

On Monday, EU ambassadors discussed the renewal and extension of the liberalized trade agreement with Ukraine, but did not approve it. The Belgian presidency, according to media reports, postponed approval of the agreement until Wednesday, as many countries have not decided on a position.

Last Wednesday, the ambassadors also failed to approve the agreement, as Poland and France considered the text agreed with the European Parliament insufficient.

Tags: EU, protests, restrictions, Ukraine