5,000 farmers protest ahead of European Agriculture Ministers Conference

(Baonghean.vn) - European leaders, who are already having headaches with the migrant crisis, now have to think about finding a way out for the agricultural sector in the face of the continuous price declines of recent times.

Last summer, the continuous fall in beef, pork and milk prices caused heavy losses to the European agricultural sector. The cause of this situation is believed to be due to the Russian embargo - a move to retaliate against the European economic sanctions due to the tense developments in eastern Ukraine. It is known that the agricultural export turnover from Europe to Russia each year is up to 10%, so the Russian embargo has caused many European farmers to face difficulties.

Farmers carrying tractors protest on the streets of Paris. Photo: AFP

Faced with this situation, European agricultural ministers have had to convene an extraordinary meeting to find a suitable solution on September 7. France, Spain, Portugal and Italy are proposing to open a support budget for farmers severely affected by the crisis. Meanwhile, many other countries have proposed to find new markets for European agricultural products through trade agreements.

While the debate is still ongoing, thousands of meat and dairy farmers have gathered in the streets of Brussels to protest, calling on leaders to quickly find solutions for these two key agricultural sectors. According to estimates, about 5,000 European farmers, mainly from Belgium, France and Germany, have come to Brussels, Belgium to protest ahead of the Conference of European Agriculture Ministers on September 7.

Chu Thanh

(according to Le Monde)