Smoke bombs, honking horns, and even "potato missiles": More than 8,000 producers flooded the streets of Brussels in rejection of

Just as planned, and coinciding with a meeting of the heads of state of the European Union to discuss the financing of Ukraine in view of the war conflict with Russia, more than 8,000 producers flooded the streets of Brussels to protest the economic situation of their activities. Smoke bombs, honking, streets blocked by hundreds of tractors, and "potato missiles" thrown at the security forces filled the Belgian capital with striking images. Specifically, the demand focuses on two central issues: the signing of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that the Commission of that bloc is pushing, which involves nothing less than a subsidy cut of nearly 20%. The truth is that none of this is new, but rather it is in line with the protests that were replicated throughout 2024, which at that time also included rejections of new environmental requirements.