Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal/Open VLD) met with farmers' unions yesterday. The farmers want the prime minister to put farming on the agenda of Thursday’s European summit. "I listened to them," De Croo said. "I understand that the sector wants to see results. I will now take a few days to show that we can make our mark."
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Prime minister Alexander De Croo to raise farmers’ concerns with European commission president Ursula Von der Leyen
Colin Clapson
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"There are some issues I will discuss with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. One issue, for example, is the obligation for farmers to leave 4 per cent of their land fallow. That has a direct impact on them. That's 4 per cent of their land they can't get any yield from. We really need to look at whether that is the right measure."
"Farmers' concerns are legitimate," Mr De Croo added. "Today there is also a lot of sympathy in society at large, but they have to be careful not to lose that support by actions that go too far. They should not prevent people from going to work or taking their children to school."
The European commission has already indicated that the 4 per cent fallow rule will be postponed. Support measures to help EU farmers and compensate for the access to the EU market granted to Ukrainian farmers are also planned.
Read more about the farmers' protests here.