The Farmers’ Alliance say they are working with other European farming groups to “fight back” on what they described as “anti-farming EU policies” which they say is driven by a green transition which has brought farming to the “cusp of obliteration”.
The Alliance gathered with their European counterparts to demonstrate outside the European Parliament in Brussels last week to highlight difficulties farmers face.
The protest took place at a time of upheaval in Europe as huge farming protests in Germany and France have brought thousands to the streets and gained widespread public attention.
Farmers Alliance leadership say they represented Irish farmers at the Brussels protest with party co-founder and spokesperson Helen O’Sullivan involved in the headline panel discussion hosted by MCC Brussels.
Speaking to The Parliament political news outlet, O’Sullivan said: ‘There’s just too much red tape coming from the European Union. If the Mercosur deal does go through, that would mean 99,000 tonnes of tariff free beef flooding into the EU and so what about the carbon footprint of that? Ireland is the most sustainable country in the whole world to produce food. We should be made the food island of Europe”
“We met with farming bodies from Holland, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain and agreed that together our voice would be stronger in Europe so discussions are underway to form a European farming alliance which we fully support,” she said.
“One of the key objectives of the coalition is to counter the undue influence of the EU’s green lobby and to remind the people and the politicians of the importance of a thriving agricultural sector for maintaining food security.”
What farmers across Europe are realising is, despite important differences within countries, the fortunes of farmers across Europe suffer from a common problem: the EU’s overzealous green policies and disinterest in, if not disdain for, farmers and ordinary people living in rural communities,” she claimed.
“From fertiliser restrictions (Derogation Reduction), to demands to return productive land back to nature (Nature Restoration Law) and increasing imported produce from non-EU countries to undercut European farmers (Mercosur deal).
On top of this, the huge administrative burden of demonstrating compliance with environmental regulations, and the decrees of the EU are destroying the rural way of life,” the Farmers’ Alliance spokeswoman said.
