EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Farmers angry at falling milk prices caused traffic chaos in the EU capital on Thursday (18 June) morning, in a distraction from the official EU summit agenda. Between 500 and 1,000 mostly Belgian tractors began snaking their way toward the Parc de Cinquantenaire in the heart of the EU quarter at around 8.30 am local time. The heavy policing gave the summit venue a warlike atmosphere The columns, moving at speeds of just 30 km/hour on all three lanes of the main E40 highway leading into Brussels, caused tailbacks over 20 km long. Disruption was also expected on the E411 and E19 roads. The farmers plan to make a tour of Brussels city centre before congregating at the park, where they aim to spend the night and to resume the protest on Friday.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Farmers angry at falling milk prices caused traffic chaos in the EU capital on Thursday (18 June) morning, in a distraction from the official EU summit agenda.
Between 500 and 1,000 mostly Belgian tractors began snaking their way toward the Parc de Cinquantenaire in the heart of the EU quarter at around 8.30 am local time.
The heavy policing gave the summit venue a warlike atmosphere
The columns, moving at speeds of just 30 km/hour on all three lanes of the main E40 highway leading into Brussels, caused tailbacks over 20 km long. Disruption was also expected on the E411 and E19 roads.
The farmers plan to make a tour of Brussels city centre before congregating at the park, where they aim to spend the night and to resume the protest on Friday.
I know that in the UK milk prices are hammered flat by the purchasing power of the supermarkets, dairy farmers are leaving the industry of going into value-added products like cheese and yoghurt. Basically their view is that if they can't get the milk from the UK, they buy it from europe, which is madness. keep to the Fen Causeway
Currently his business (with 85 cows) is losing money - however 2007/2008 were very good years for him, so he's not complaining too much.
An analysis by the Wagening University last month says that about 15 percent of the Dutch farmers, generally the bigger farms (80 cows or more), don't suffer. For farmers who just started, milk prices are starting to make life difficult.
