Blockade of Belgian port
Early this morning, dozens of angry farmers arrived in Ghent, coming from various locations in East and West Flanders, including areas near the city’s canals.
“They are planning to stop freight and shipping traffic for 24 hours,” says Belgian hauliers’ organisation Febetra.
#R4 Door boerenprotesten zijn er #filterblokkades in de haven van Gent:
– Op de ring rond Gent bij Gent-Zeehaven, op de turborotonde aan Eurosilo
– Op de Kennedylaan bij Zelzate-Oost, op de Cosmosrotonde, er staan files vanuit alle richtingen
– Op de brug in Zelzate pic.twitter.com/qJhtrYew63— Hajo Beeckman (@hajobeeckman) February 15, 2024
The farmers plan to block traffic at two busy roundabouts; the Cosmos roundabout at the ArcelorMittal steelworks, and the Turbo roundabout at the Euro-Silo. Action is also planned at the Zelzate bridge over the Ghent-Terneuzen canal. The farmers want to block freight and shipping traffic there.
Protest in Poland
Polish farmers are also continuing their protests. This morning, tractors are causing traffic disruption in the centre of Wroclaw, the capital of Lower Silesia. The tractors arrived in the centre of the city and stopped in front of the European Parliament and the regional and provincial government offices.
Since the protest began on Friday 9 February, the farmers have also blocked Jana III Sobieskiego Avenue in the Psie Pole housing estate and are blocking traffic on Wroclaw’s eastern ring road, threatening to disrupt transit traffic in the Wroclaw area.
Protest in Spain
Spanish farmers have also been on strike since last week. Farmers’ unions are set to bring traffic to a standstill in many regions of Spain. Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has invited the farmers’ organisations Asaja, Coag and UPA to the Ministry’s headquarters today. The farmers are going to the ministry with the intention of negotiating a shock plan – involving action at European Union, national and autonomous community level – and with no intention, for the time being, of stopping the calendar of protests planned for the next few weeks.
Today, blockades are planned in Zaragoza, Murcia (Altiplano, Jumilla and Yecla) and Puerto de Castellón, among others.
Calendario de movilizaciones y tractoradas del #15F
#UnidaddeAcción pic.twitter.com/7bzU4gcuPY— COAG (@La_COAG) February 14, 2024