A massive protest erupted in Brussels on Thursday as thousands of European farmers clashed with police outside the European Parliament, pelting officers with potatoes and eggs while venting outrage over a looming EU-Mercosur free trade deal. What began as a government-sanctioned demonstration of 50 tractors swelled to nearly 1,000 tractors and more than 7,000 protesters.
Farmers lit piles of tires, smashed windows, and drove tractors at police lines during chaotic scenes near the Parliament’s main entrance. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons as tensions flared in the historic Place du Luxembourg.
At the heart of the unrest is the European Union’s pending trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc—Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The deal would remove tariffs on South American agricultural imports, a move farmers across Europe say threatens their way of life. They argue that EU leaders are sacrificing them to benefit foreign producers who operate under significantly lower regulatory and environmental standards.
Farmers warned that opening Europe to cheap, mass-produced goods from abroad could wipe out local agriculture. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, combined with trade liberalization, have become flashpoints across the continent, particularly in Belgium and France.
Protesters accused the European Commission of acting like a “dictatorship,” forcing the deal through despite opposition from those most impacted. The backlash appears to have delayed the deal’s signing, which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was reportedly prepared to finalize this weekend.
French President Emmanuel Macron has voiced skepticism about the trade agreement, insisting more protections for European farmers are needed. He stated that the deal “cannot be signed” in its current form. Germany, however, supports the deal, viewing it as a strategic opportunity to expand markets for its industrial exports in South America.
While chaos unfolded outside, EU leaders inside the Parliament were engaged in tense discussions over a separate issue: a proposed loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. With much of those assets held in Brussels, Belgian officials fear possible retaliation from Moscow if they proceed.
