More than 10,000 farmers are set to descend on Brussels on Thursday 18 December to vent their frustration at the European Commission’s treatment of agriculture.
The gathering of farmers from across Europe will protest proposed cuts to the next CAP, the Mercosur trade deal and over-complex regulation.
Copa-Cogeca, the umbrella group representing EU farm organisations and co-ops that organised the protest, said that Mercosur will be among the key issues raised, calling for an immediate stop to its ratification.
The maintaining of the CAP’s budget and current two-pillar structure, as well as postponing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are among the other issues attention will be drawn to, Copa-Cogeca said.
The demonstration coincides with an EU Council meeting, to be attend by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Among those attending the protest are the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS). IFA president Francie Gorman drove to the protest in a John Deere 6R, accompanied by his 11-year-old son Tom.
They left the Irish Farm Centre in Dublin on Monday, before taking the ferry from Rosslare to Dunkirk.
United message
Speaking prior to his departure, Gorman said his organisation will stand with colleagues from across Europe to deliver a strong and united message.
“We’ll be protesting on Thursday morning, largely over the Mercosur trade agreement and the damage that it will likely do to both Irish farming and what we also consider to the health of the European citizen as well,” the IFA president said. The convoy from Ireland also included Laois IFA chair Henry Burns, Kay Gorman, Shannon Porter from Donegal and IFA staff member Seán Hennessy. The IFA national council flew to the protest on Thursday morning.
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