More than 2000 Flemish farmers drove tractors to Brussels this morning to protest against the nitrogen policy of the Flemish government. They gather near the North station.
Just like in the Netherlands, nitrogen emissions in Flanders must be reduced. This leads to unrest among Flemish farmers, who fear that stricter fertilizer regulations will lead to a “socio-economic carnage” in the agricultural sector. The Flemish ministers are currently still negotiating these new rules.
The activists drove to Brussels this morning in ten columns. There are few problems on the highways, but the action does lead to a lot of traffic disruption on the local roads.
The farmers are protesting in Brussels because that is where the Flemish government and the Flemish parliament reside. The protest is supported by various organizations in the agricultural sector.
The activists will drive around the center of Brussels in the early afternoon. As a result, traffic in the city is likely to come to a standstill. The plan is for the farmers to leave around 2 p.m.
These are images of the protest:
There is no fuss about nitrogen (yet) in Wallonia. This is because no lawsuit has been filed there, biologist Tobias Ceulemans of KU Leuven tells Het Nieuwsblad. “If that were to happen, the discussion would not be any different. Because in Wallonia there is also intensive livestock farming and heavy agriculture and there are even more areas that must be protected according to European rules.”
- Nitrogen policy in the Netherlands and Flanders: different policy, same anger
- Flanders limits nitrogen emissions; dozens of farmers have to stop
