ANTWERPEN, Belgium—Highways to Brussels and roads inside the city were all blocked up by trucks and tractors on June 18. Dairy farmers had come from all over Belgium to protest, and their comrades from other European countries, like France, Germany and Poland, had also sent tractor delegations. They came to ask for more money for their milk.
The farmers from all over gathered in Jubel Park, close to where European Union meetings were being held, to lobby for a price increase for the milk they produce.
With top European leaders meeting at the EU on Thursday and Friday, the farmers decided to take action.
They gathered around 12 o'clock to let the EU-leaders know that they are not in agreement with the plan to end milk quotas that limit the annual output of milk products of each country to prevent milk product overstocks.
Unhappy with the low price they are paid for milk—the same that has been paid for almost 30 years, according to some—they can no longer make a living in the context of rising prices for running their farms.
The retail price of milk is at least four times higher than what the farmers receive from the wholesalers.
Starting in the morning, long rows of tractors slowed traffic on the highways to Brussels as approximately 1,000 diary farmers from Belgium and other European countries headed to Brussels. Some of them drove 800 to 900 km to get there, which took two to three days.
Many of the main crossings, intersections, and roundabouts in Brussels were blocked by the farmer’s vehicle.
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