Farmer protest
Rushed rollback of EU green farming rules triggers dismay
The bloc’s notoriously complex legislative process can apparently be simplified — when it comes to farmers, that is, and when an election is around the corner.
Czech MEP mounts last-minute bid to stop Ukraine free-trade extension
Farm trade rift puts Ukraine’s EU aspirations in limbo
Viktor Orbán’s plan for Europe
New EU rules to curb deforestation add to farmers’ red tape woes
EU discord over Ukraine free trade spells trouble for Kyiv’s accession hopes
EU countries’ bickering over whether to grant Ukraine’s farm production another year of access to their markets could well be a taste of what’s to come if Kyiv becomes the bloc’s 28th member.
Farmers’ protest: Police use tear gas and water cannons to quell violent Brussels demo
Tractors block roads around the EU capital as “desperate” demonstrators set off firecrackers.
Farmer fury puts EU support for Ukraine to the test
European leaders are torn between appeasing farmers angry at import competition and backing Kyiv in its struggle against Russian aggression.
French senators reject EU-Canada trade deal amid farmer unrest
Left- and right-wing opposition parties team up to deliver rebuke to Emmanuel Macron.
EU ambassadors flinch at Ukraine free-trade compromise
Compromise struck overnight unravels within hours as France and other countries balk.
EU strikes preliminary deal to avoid harsher import restrictions on Ukrainian grain
The agreement narrowly avoids tougher limits, despite a last-minute push from Poland and France.
Russia is winning the global grain war
And it’s turning EU countries against Ukraine in the process.
France joins Poland’s push to curb Ukrainian imports
The push to curb farm imports could cost Ukraine €1.2 billion in lost revenue.
EU takes the ax to green farming rules
The European Commission’s move to slash environmental requirements for farmers comes as top scientists are urging just the opposite.
Macron to visit Brazil as Mercosur trade talks stall
He’ll also stop off in the overseas territory of French Guiana.
European farmers say they’re being screwed by Big Food. Is a price floor the answer?
Minimum prices would address farmers’ concerns that they are being short-changed by buyers. But it would be a recipe for overproduction.
Putin the only winner as Poland’s Tusk flounders over Ukraine border fight
Poland blockades its ally Ukraine while buying farm goods from its enemy Russia.
Farmers turn up heat on Macron. Is the far right leading them?
The French president has accused Coordination Rurale, a union which seized the limelight in recent farmers’ protests, of working with the National Rally.
Dutch farmers back Wilders as centrist nightmares come true
Far-right radical seen as last chance to avoid EU pollution rules.
Chaos, fires and tear gas roil Brussels as farmers clash with police
Stink of manure permeates EU capital amid ongoing battles between protesting farmers and cops.
EU chief quietly kills ‘nanny-state’ policies with eye on election
From pesticides to alcohol labeling, Ursula von der Leyen is taking an ax to any potentially vote-losing policies.
Polish protests test Donald Tusk’s support for Ukraine
Farm strife is making it hard for Polish PM to appease all the people, all the time.
The furious farmer taking on Italy’s agri giants
Danilo Calvani leads one of a slew of radical new movements that are challenging Europe’s established farm unions.
The French farmer on a tractor is back — running the EU
It took just days after French farmers took to the streets for Brussels and Paris to backtrack on important green goals.
Ursula von der Leyen scraps pesticide reduction bill, in gift to farmers
The European Parliament already rejected the contentious text, which the Commission President described as a “worthy aim.”
Fires and a toppled statue: Farmers clash with police by EU Parliament
Flemish farmers drink morning beers on Place du Luxembourg as food producers rage about green tape from Brussels.
Europe’s farmer protests are spreading. Here’s where and why
Protests around the EU reflect common grievances over debts, price pressures, extreme weather and cheap imports, POLITICO has found.