Almost 70 Irish farmers were among the thousands of protesters on the streets of Brussels on Thursday in a show of force against the European Commission’s plans to rubber stamp the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement with one hand, while gutting farm income supports with the other.
The IFA, ICOS and ICSA all attended the protest.
A splinter group of farmers attending the protest escalated their action, damaging buildings and the streetscape. Police attended the scene in the city centre. The Irish Farmers Journal's Noel Bardon and Adam Woods were live at the scene.
Farmers gathered from early on Thursday morning in the heart of Brussels as they looked to heap pressure on their heads of state - who kicked off a highly-anticipated two-day summit.
A tractor convoy stretching 5km in length, which consisted of around 1,000 tractors, headed to the EU capital.
It is over the course of the following two days that the Commission hopes a qualified majority of EU countries will formally back the Mercosur trade deal.
CAP budget
The next EU budget is also on the agenda, with the Commission’s proposals published this summer looking to abolish the standalone CAP budget while cutting the ringfenced funds it wants to allocate to farmers from 2028 onwards by upwards of 20%.
Farmers from Italy at the protest in Brussels.
Protesters had streets in the Belgian capital blocked from as early as 5am on Thursday morning ahead of the demonstration’s kick-off.
Listen to Adam Woods live from Brussels earlier on Thursday morning:
The protest was pegged as the largest staged by the EU’s farmers in a decade by its organiser - the EU umbrella farming organisation Copa.
IFA president Francie Gorman departed from the Irish Farm Centre on Monday, Brussels bound for Thursday's protest. \ Philip Doyle
The EU-Mercosur free trade deal has been in the works for the past 25 years, with a provisional agreement between Mercosur countries and the Commission in December 2024 marking what the deal's supporters heralded as a major breakthrough in talks.
The Commission wants the deal backed by member states ahead of a summit with Mercosur countries on Saturday.
Vote
France and Italy have called on the Commission to delay Thursday’s vote, but it is unclear whether they intend on shooting it down if the deal is put to a vote as planned.
Poland remains staunchly opposed to the deal, Belgium is to abstain and Ireland and the Netherlands are staying coy on which way they will vote when Mercosur is put to a crunch vote.
The Commission is also under pressure from Brazil, whose president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva threatened to walk away from the agreement if the EU drags its feet on the deal any more.
IFA president Francie Gorman has travelled by tractor from the association’s base in the Irish Farm Centre on Dublin to Brussels, where he has been met by the IFA national council to take part in the protest.
This story was updated on Thursday afternoon 18 December.
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Watch: 20% CAP cut a 'decent' place to start but not to end – Minister Heydon
Almost 70 Irish farmers were among the thousands of protesters on the streets of Brussels on Thursday in a show of force against the European Commission’s plans to rubber stamp the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement with one hand, while gutting farm income supports with the other.
The IFA, ICOS and ICSA all attended the protest.
A splinter group of farmers attending the protest escalated their action, damaging buildings and the streetscape. Police attended the scene in the city centre. The Irish Farmers Journal's Noel Bardon and Adam Woods were live at the scene.
Farmers gathered from early on Thursday morning in the heart of Brussels as they looked to heap pressure on their heads of state - who kicked off a highly-anticipated two-day summit.
A tractor convoy stretching 5km in length, which consisted of around 1,000 tractors, headed to the EU capital.
It is over the course of the following two days that the Commission hopes a qualified majority of EU countries will formally back the Mercosur trade deal.
CAP budget
The next EU budget is also on the agenda, with the Commission’s proposals published this summer looking to abolish the standalone CAP budget while cutting the ringfenced funds it wants to allocate to farmers from 2028 onwards by upwards of 20%.
Farmers from Italy at the protest in Brussels.
Protesters had streets in the Belgian capital blocked from as early as 5am on Thursday morning ahead of the demonstration’s kick-off.
Listen to Adam Woods live from Brussels earlier on Thursday morning:
The protest was pegged as the largest staged by the EU’s farmers in a decade by its organiser - the EU umbrella farming organisation Copa.
IFA president Francie Gorman departed from the Irish Farm Centre on Monday, Brussels bound for Thursday's protest. \ Philip Doyle
The EU-Mercosur free trade deal has been in the works for the past 25 years, with a provisional agreement between Mercosur countries and the Commission in December 2024 marking what the deal's supporters heralded as a major breakthrough in talks.
The Commission wants the deal backed by member states ahead of a summit with Mercosur countries on Saturday.
Vote
France and Italy have called on the Commission to delay Thursday’s vote, but it is unclear whether they intend on shooting it down if the deal is put to a vote as planned.
Poland remains staunchly opposed to the deal, Belgium is to abstain and Ireland and the Netherlands are staying coy on which way they will vote when Mercosur is put to a crunch vote.
The Commission is also under pressure from Brazil, whose president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva threatened to walk away from the agreement if the EU drags its feet on the deal any more.
IFA president Francie Gorman has travelled by tractor from the association’s base in the Irish Farm Centre on Dublin to Brussels, where he has been met by the IFA national council to take part in the protest.
This story was updated on Thursday afternoon 18 December.
Read more
Tánaiste stops short of definitive ‘no’ when pushed on Mercosur stance
Jury still out on whether blocking minority exists on Mercosur deal – Harris
Watch: 20% CAP cut a 'decent' place to start but not to end – Minister Heydon
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