Protesters lead a cow on a street in downtown Milan as people protest against European agricultural policies, next to the Regional Council of Lombardy in Milan, Italy February 5, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Italy’s farmers head to Rome in tractor convoy protest

Protests in France, Germany eased; farmers blocked Dutch-Belgian border

Reading Time: 2 minutes Italian farmers protesting about red tape and cheap imports from outside the EU headed towards Rome in convoys of tractors on Monday, while their colleagues in the north led a cow through the streets of Milan.



A hay bale is moved by a tractor over a pile to block a road, as French farmers protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, near Castelnaudary, in the south of France, January 23, 2024. The text on the hay bales reads: “JA” referring to “Jeunes Agriculteurs” (Young Farmers) and “We just want to feed, not die”. Photo: Reuters/Nacho Doce

One dead, two injured as French farmer protests spread

Farmers union says road blocks won't be lifted until government action on economic, regulatory concerns

Reading Time: 3 minutes Protesting farmers blocked roads across France on Tuesday and there was one fatal accident, as their unions urged the government to ease its drive for lower consumer prices and reduce environmental regulations.

Farmers protesting in Toulouse, France, on January 16, 2024, with tractors bearing placards that read ‘Macron still an effort, soon all farmers will be dead’. Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Reuters

France could face nationwide farmer protests as anger mounts

Farmers cite fuel taxes, excessive restrictions and red tape among grievances

Reading Time: < 1 minute France's largest farm union FNSEA is considering nationwide protests in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said on Friday, potentially expanding action by farmers in the southwest who have blocked a highway and dumped manure on public buildings.


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

EU countries fail to agree on extending glyphosate approval

Current approval expires Dec. 15

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union governments failed on Friday to give a decisive opinion on a proposal to extend by 10 years EU approval for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide. A “qualified majority” of 15 countries representing at least 65 per cent of the bloc’s population had been […] Read more

File photo of a bulk vessel at a port grain terminal at Constanta, Romania. (Sergii Zhmurchak/iStock/Getty Images)

Romania, Ukraine to work on grain import-export licensing system

Three other EU countries have bans in place

Reading Time: 2 minutes Bucharest | Reuters — Romania will work with Ukraine over the next 30 days on a grain export control plan that will help protect Romanian farmers, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Wednesday. Romania is among five eastern European Union countries along with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that saw a surge of Ukrainian grain […] Read more


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Kyiv acts on ‘compromise’ plan after filing WTO complaint over food ban

Three EU countries have restricted Ukraine grain imports

Reading Time: 3 minutes Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine appealed to three neighbouring countries in the European Union on Tuesday to embark on “constructive dialogue” to end a dispute over agricultural trade, and approved what it called a “compromise scenario.” Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on imports from Ukraine on Friday after the European Commission decided not to […] Read more

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Farm trade dispute creates rift between Ukraine and its allies

Ukraine sues three EU member states at WTO

Reading Time: 3 minutes Brussels/Kyiv | Reuters — A dispute over agricultural trade created a rift on Monday between Ukraine and some of its strongest allies in the European Union after three member states imposed unilateral measures to restrict imports from the war-torn country. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on imports on Friday after the European Commission decided […] Read more


File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia to continue own bans on Ukraine grain

European Commission decides not to extend ban

Reading Time: 3 minutes Brussels/Warsaw | Reuters — Poland, Slovakia and Hungary will impose their own restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports, the governments said on Friday, after the European Commission decided not to extend a ban affecting Ukraine’s five EU neighbours. Restrictions imposed by the European Union in May allowed Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic […] Read more

File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

EU ag commissioner pushes for extension of Ukraine grain import ban

Restrictions due to expire Friday

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels/Bucharest | Reuters — The EU agriculture commissioner said on Tuesday said he believes the European Commission should extend a temporary ban on Ukraine imports into five neighouring EU states, as the measure helped boost exports outside the bloc. Ukraine has become entirely dependent on alternative European Union routes, called Solidarity Lanes, for its grain […] Read more