Furious farmers demand EU reforms

Europe's farming sector is facing a big crisis and must "profoundly" change its rules, Emmanuel Macron said after a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels was overshadowed by protesting farmers hurling eggs, dumping manure and lighting fires.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Speaking as hundreds of farmers from Belgium, the Netherlands and elsewhere blocked streets around the European parliament with tractors, the French president said there should be a joint EU mechanism to guarantee fair prices paid to farmers by food giants and supermarkets. He said regulations should be simplified, after weeks of farmer protests across Europe have blockaded motorways.

Although agriculture had not been on the agenda of the leaders' summit, the proximity and intensity of the farmers' protests made it impossible for politicians in Brussels to ignore.

Praising farmers' "remarkable resilience", the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was working closely with EU member states "to address the immediate challenges".

"To the farmers that are outside. We see you and we hear you," said Roberta Metsola, the European parliament president.

After weeks in which farmers from Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and Greece protested, hundreds descended on Brussels last Thursday to put more pressure on European leaders to do more to help them with taxes, rising costs and environmental rules.