"Europe is drowning in milk" one of the banners read as farmers from all over Europe took to the streets of Brussels to demand the EU intervenes in the decreasing price of their produce.
The protesters blocked many main streets with tractors, fired milk canons at police, threw eggs at government buildings and hung plaster-cast cows from cranes above the city. Due to fires being lit in hay in the in a square close by, police were forced to block entry into the European Union Council building.
Many farmers in Belgium and the rest of the EU are experiencing a fall in demand for produce particularly from the Russian embargo on western trade and a fall in demand from China. This has led many to call for an end to the taxes and bureaucracy they have to face, which according to their view, is undermining their competitiveness compared to other EU countries.
Una amiga nos ha pasado este video a corrspnsles Bruselas sobre la manifestación de agricultores hoy en la capital eu pic.twitter.com/goLy5y2qId
— Jacobo de Regoyos (@JRegoyos) September 7, 2015
There have been a number of similar protests amongst dairy farmers around the UK as the prices for agricultural products continues to drop.
Watch moment as tractors clash with armed police
