The 2024 European farmers' protests are a series of

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

s by

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s that have been occurring since December 2023. The farmers have protested against low food prices, proposed environmental regulations (such as a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...

, pesticide bans, nitrogen emissions curbs and restrictions on water and land usage), and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

in agricultural products with non-

European Union member states The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of Lists of member states of the European Union, 27 member states that are party to the EU's Treaties of the European Union, founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and ...

, such as

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and the

Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...

bloc of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The protests take place in a context of the

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Commission. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce ...

, a program where the EU provides €57 billion in subsidies to farmers (approximately a quarter of all EU subsidies). Under the

European Green Deal The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate meri ...

, which aimed at making the European bloc carbon-neutral by 2050, farmers would need to devote 4% of their arable land to non-productive purposes and reduce the use of fertilizer by 20%. In response to the protests, the EU backtracked on policies to consider farming emissions in its 2040 climate roadmap, a law to cut pesticide use and delaying implementation of a target for farmers to leave some land fallow to improve biodiversity. In France and Germany, farmers protested against proposals to scrap tax breaks for agricultural diesel. The farmers also protested against the EU–Mercosur free trade agreement. In the Netherlands, farmers protested against reductions in nitrogen emissions. The methodology of the farmers is often street blockades and protesting. There are also often

occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment * Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, t ...

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Protest, a public act of objection, disapproval or d ...

illegal dumping Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping ( UK), is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorised method such as curbside collection or using an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto ...

and

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denotes ...

s done by farmers, especially in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Farmers protests by country

Belgium

The Belgian farmers' protests began on 1 February 2024 and ended on 26 February 2024. Farmers and the farmers' unions protested over their standard of living and lower income than before. Several key protests took place in the European Quarter of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

surrounding

the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it a ...

France

The farmers' protests in

are a combination of protests and road blockages, these protests and blockades have been organized mainly by agricultural unions since 18 January 2024. The farmers protests' began on a small scale in October 2023 in

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

. On 16 January 2024, farmers in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

began a demonstration, which evolved into a road blockade of the

A64 autoroute The A64 autoroute is a motorway in southwestern France. It is also called the ''La Pyrénéenne'' and numbered the European route E80. It is a toll road for part of its length. Aligned East-West, it connects Toulouse to Bayonne via Tarbes and ...

by Occitan Farmers and even a radical action of

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

s. Road blockades were ongoing and common from 23 January 2024 until Prime Minister

Gabriel Attal Gabriel Nissim Attal de Couriss (; born 16 March 1989) is a French politician who was the prime minister of France from January to September 2024. He was the youngest and the first openly Gay man, gay prime minister in French history. A member ...

conceded on 1 February.

Germany

Farmers' protests in Germany began on a major scale on 16 December 2023 in response to the phasing out of

tax break Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this f ...

s for

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

subsidies by the

German Government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

due to their

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

misuse of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

relief funds. In Germany, the

opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

such as the

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

and

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

have supported the protestors.

Netherlands

Farmers' protests in the Netherlands have been ongoing since October 2019, it was mainly started over proposals and legislation to limit

human impact on the nitrogen cycle Human impact on the nitrogen cycle is diverse. Agricultural and industrial nitrogen (N) inputs to the environment currently exceed inputs from natural N fixation. As a consequence of anthropogenic inputs, the global nitrogen cycle (Fig. 1) has ...

. The farmers' protests in the Netherlands has led to the growth of the

Farmer–Citizen Movement The Farmer–Citizen Movement ( ; BBB) is an agrarian and right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. It is headquartered in Deventer, Overijssel. The current party leader is founder Caroline van der Plas, who has led it since its ...

, with it having won 16 seats out of 75 seats in the

Dutch Senate The Senate ( , literally "First Chamber of the States General", or simply ; sometimes ) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-Provi ...

and 7 seats in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

out of 150 seats.

Poland

In Poland the farmers' protests began on 9 February 2024 in response to the

, along with the importation of Ukrainian

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

into

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the wider European Union. Polish beekeepers, farmers, truckers and foresters began protesting, with nearly all farmers' unions supporting the protests. Roads and highways have often been blocked by Polish farmers and truckers.

Spain

On 3 June 2024, Catalan farmers' platform Spanish Revolta Pagesa organized with several Spanish and French farmer unions to block crossing points along the Spanish-French border from

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

La Jonquera La Jonquera (; ) is a municipality in the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of Alt Empordà, l'Alt Empordà, in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated next to the border with Northern Catalonia, nowadays France, opposite the municipality of Le Perthu ...

across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. About 150 tractors blocked crossings on the Spanish side of the border, while about six tractors blocked traffic from the French side, allowing only medical, emergency, and school transport vehicles to pass. About 200 farmers also blocked the Spanish-

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

border at

La Farga de Moles LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

. The protesters' goal was to prioritize local production, to push tax breaks on energy used to produce food, and to push equal requirements, greater food security, and preference for EU products over non-EU imports. The date of the protest was meant to pressure EU institutions prior to Elections for the EU Parliament.

Responses

Governments

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

has urged European leaders to bring about a

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

to the farming sector and to guarantee fair prices to farmers.

, the

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

announced an aid package worth $160 million in aid for

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

farmers in need of the financial aid. *

Christian Lindner Christian Wolfgang Lindner (; born 7 January 1979) is a German former politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who was the Federal Minister of Finance from 2021 until his dismissal in 2024 during the 2024 German government crisis. Servi ...

, who is the German Federal Minister of Finance said that the German Government cannot afford to help farmers, saying "There is no more money."

European Union

* The European Union has conceded to some farmers' demands, especially those of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

farmers, agreeing to implement a cap on tariff-free Ukrainian grain imports.

Misinformation

The European

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

sites '' Newtral'' and '' Science Feedback'' analyzed that the farmers' protest is being weaponized to sabotage

climate action Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-2024 European Union farmers' protests 2024 in the European Union 2024 protests Protests in Europe Agriculture in Europe European farmers' protests, 2024