European farmers plan protest in Brussels this autumn

European farmers are planning to hold a new protest in Brussels this autumn to express their continued dissatisfaction with cuts to the European agricultural policy. 

The announcement came from Arnaud Rousseau, leader of France’s largest farmers’ organisation, FSNEA.

Rousseau also criticised the lack of clarity and the delays surrounding agricultural support from Paris.

While it is not yet clear what form the protest in Brussels will take, the goal of the action is to put pressure on the European Union regarding the portion of the new multiannual budget earmarked for agriculture.

The EU has proposed a guaranteed minimum of €300 billion in income support for the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2028–2034, compared with €387 billion in the current period. 

Rousseau said that pressure was being exerted by "frugal member states" to reduce that amount even further.

For France, the proposals amount to a 13% reduction - “a completely illogical scenario given the current climatic, economic and geopolitical circumstances,” the FSNEA wrote in a letter addressed to French president Emmanuel Macron.

Previous farmers' protests in Brussels have been focused on the EU district and led to burnt rubbish bins and tyres, and waste scattered on public highways.