Low turnout at farmers demonstration ahead of EU vote

Copa-Cogeca, the EU's main farmers' organisation, dissociated itself from the event and claimed that none of its members took part.

Transcript

00:00Organizers had expected it to be a big protest, ahead of the European elections,

00:06despite the fact that Brussels recently eased environmental demands in its Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP.

00:13No, it's not enough. We have a few small developments that we still have to notice,

00:20but for now, at this stage, they will bring nothing at the economic level.

00:32The tenth protest by farmers in Brussels in recent months has also been the least numerous of all.

00:39We have spoken with the organizers who have told us that they expected between 15,000 and 20,000 people.

00:44Finally, there have been far fewer.

00:47We have not seen the images of violence of the previous occasions.

01:09But, the list of speakers shows a different picture.

01:29The speeches from politicians from far-right parties, including the Flemish Flams Belang and the Polish PIS.

01:37The main farmers' organization in the EU, Copacabana, did not take part in a demonstration,

01:42and chose not to comment because of the controversy.

01:45The Green European Party says these organizations are capitalizing on issues raised by farmers.

01:51Its leading candidate, Bas Eichut, is quoted as saying that the far-right has been feeding farmers with the lie

01:57that Europe and the Green Deal are to blame for their hardship,

02:00adding that a small number of farmers have adopted these lies and are siding with them.

02:05He said the Greens were willing to work with farmers who operate within the framework of democracy.

02:10The protests, which began during the winter, have pressurized the European Commission

02:15into changing the cap and dropping legislation over pesticide use.