Belgian farmers protest outside EU agricultural ministers meeting in Brussels

Hundreds of Belgian farmers drove their tractors to the European Union district in Brussels on Tuesday to protest against what they see as overly strict environmental standards and unfair foreign imports.

The protest comes ahead of a meeting of EU agriculture ministers, where the farmers hope to demand better prices and a shift away from export-oriented free trade agreements.

"If you want European policies to move in the right direction and no longer be only the arm of industry and multinationals, you have to change the power in the (European) Commission and get rid of these people who only advocate for ultra-liberalism in European policies, both in agriculture and other areas of society," a spokesperson of Fugea Farmers Union said.

Meanwhile, EU members are discussing the extension of tariff-free access to Ukrainian markets while addressing the concerns of the protesting farmers.

French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said, "It is this position of balance that we hold and that, I believe, which is a fair position of unwavering support for Ukraine, but not at the cost of a destabilization of the markets which would be too strong and which would go against the Ukrainians."

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