Farmers’ protests cast shadow over Brussels summit

As EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss financial aid to Ukraine, outside, farmers were continuing days of protests that have seen tractors block traffic into the Belgian capital.

Brussels police say around 1,300 tractors have descended on the city, which began by blocking traffic on the outskirts on Wednesday before moving into the EU district yesterday.

The farmers' grievances include burdensome EU regulations and competition from cheaper Ukrainian agricultural imports, for which trade tariffs are currently suspended.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was filmed yesterday evening on the sidelines of a farmers' protest in Brussels and photographed talking to a protester.

Orbán spokesman Zoltán Kovács said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the prime minister said "the EU Commission should represent the interests of European farmers against those of Ukraine, not the other way around."

Orbán had been at the centre of the specially convened summit because he was the only EU leader threatening to use his veto power to block additional funding for the Ukrainian war effort. On Thursday before midday, the leaders including Orbán reached agreement on the funding.

EU leaders discussed the protests at a dinner on Wednesday evening, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters.

"I'd be among one of quite a number of heads of government here who understand the pressures that our farmers are under," Varadkar said on Thursday. "Whether it's increased energy costs or fertilizer costs, new environmental regulations—it's kind of been layer on layer for farmers."