The tear gas was used just before lunchtime near the European Parliament where scores of tractors had lined up to demonstrate their anger, reports the newspaper La Libre . Already this morning, water cannons were used to remove protesters from the area that had been cordoned off.
The dissatisfaction concerns both the essentially completed free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, but also the EU Commission's proposal for the next long-term budget.
"It is clear that the Commission has failed to create predictability by reducing the earmarked budget for agriculture," writes MEP Emma Wiesner (C) in a comment.
In the Mercosur resistance, the farmers have the support of countries such as France, Italy, Hungary and Poland. On the other hand, Germany, Sweden and Spain, for example, are among the agreement's supporters – as is the EU Commission.
It is enormously important to get the green light for Mercosur, says President Ursula von der Leyen on her way to the EU summit.
If the agreement is supported by enough EU countries, von der Leyen hopes to travel to Brazil for a formal signing on Saturday.
The EU and the Mercosur countries – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – have been negotiating a free trade agreement since 1999.
A preliminary agreement was reached in 2019 and has been supplemented with new commitments that, among other things, include the Paris Agreement in the agreement.
An interim agreement has now been submitted for approval by the EU Council of Ministers (where at least two-thirds of member states must say yes) and the EU Parliament (with the support of at least a majority of its members). For full entry into force, the agreement will then need to be ratified by all national parliaments in the EU.
Bolivia has also been part of Mercosur since last year, but needs to undertake additional negotiations with the EU if it wants to be covered by the agreement.
