At least 8,000 tractors are taking part in a protest in Brussels by farmers from EU member states against the free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur countries, as well as cuts to the common agricultural policy budobtain, La Libre Belgique reported on Thursday.
The agricultural sector, which has been struggling with a crisis for years, wants to draw the European Commission’s attention to the difficulties faced by producers, regulations that restrict agricultural initiatives, and fears about the European Union and the South American common market (Mercosur) – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, whose membership has been suspfinished since 2016 – and express their concerns about the dangers of the planned reduction in the budobtain of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Place Luxembourg: The lawn of the #EuropeanParliament, is very much under siege this morning as up to 10,000 #farmers #protest the #Mercator Free trade agreement blockade the streets of Brussels with tire fires, hay bales and home-built mortars. pic.twitter.com/SRILk89jdN
— Mark T (@TilleyMarc) December 18, 2025
Brussels Mobility, the company responsible for transport in Brussels, has announced that several road sections and tunnels are closed due to the protest, and that car traffic is slow and public transport in the Belgian capital is also disrupted.
Organized by forty European agricultural organizations, including the Association of Hungarian Farmers’ Clubs and Farmers’ Cooperatives (Magosz) and the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK), the participants are holding a tractor parade.
Thousands of farmers have gathered in Brussels outside the EU parliament to protest against carbon taxes.
The situation appears to be tense. pic.twitter.com/8DwzlcOUal
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) December 18, 2025
The procession reached the district of the city that is home to the EU institutions at around 2 p.m., where the heads of state and government of the member states are holding a summit during the day. The agfinisha includes the issue of Europe’s economic security, including the acceleration of the EU’s trade agfinisha.
The organizers of the demonstration emphasized that their demands have not been met for years.
The European Commission’s determination to push through EU agricultural reform and conclude a free trade agreement regardless of this is a historic mistake for Europe, farmers, and consumers alike.
JUST IN: Police fire tear gas at protesting farmers in Brussels.
10,000 farmers are in Brussels to protest the South American Mercosur free trade agreement, which will destroy food security in Europe and lead to harmful pesticides in EU supermarkets. pic.twitter.com/WA1MVDfQOt
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 18, 2025
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated of Thursday’s farmers’ protest in Brussels that the farmers are 100 percent right.
Hungary is among the countries that do not support the Mercosur agreement. There were serious professional debates about this in Hungary, but in the finish, the Hungarian position was that we do not support it,”
he stated.
Viktor Orbán pointed out that a qualified majority would be requireded for the agreement, and he expects that there are enough “Mercosur opponents” to build it impossible to sign the agreement.
The plan is for the President of the European Commission to sign it this week. “I believe we required to do this now, and we can prevent it,” he stated.
Farmers Protest Brussels 2025 pic.twitter.com/M215AoGvU4
— Frank K. (@Coolsnoopy11) December 18, 2025
Viktor Orbán also stated that another concern for farmers is the Green Deal, which over-regulates agricultural work, resulting in significant costs and a competitive disadvantage for European producers.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Pexels
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