EMB
On August 4, an extraordinary EMB meeting took place with participants from Belgium (MIG and FMB), Germany (AbL and BDM), France (OPL), Ireland (ICSMA), Lithuania (LOSP), Luxembourg (LDB), Netherlands (DDB and NMV) and Switzerland (Big-M).
The discussion showed that the current situation all across Europe is unbearable. It was decided to organize, on the occasion of the extraordinary meeting of the EU council of ministers on agricultural affairs, an action in Brussels on the 7th of September, during the morning. It is also important to organize actions in the countries prior to that. Participants of the extraordinary meeting discussed details of the action. It is important that a high number of milk producers will be mobilized. Shortly, we will be sending you an official call for the demonstration with further details.
Germany
There are spontaneous demonstrations going on in Germany. The organisation for family farms AbL, for instance, has this information on a demonstration in East Frisia: "Yesterday evening 150 dairy farmers with 78 tractors held a spontaneous demonstration outside the ALDI central warehouse in Hesel, East Frisia. According to those taking part, they were joined by many young farmers and many others who had not been seen before at similar demonstrations or meetings.
The idea to hold the demonstration came spontaneously from a few local members of the German Dairy Farmers’ Federation (BDM) and AbL Regional Chairman Ottmar Ilchmann. The idea then spread rapidly via "social media – and so the demonstration went viral."
Great Britain
Protests are to go ahead in Great Britain in the next few days. According to Farmers For Action, they are determined to make the general public aware of the problems through strong campaigns. It was now the British dairy industry’s turn. Moreover, the British Prime Minister had to finally realise who was running the country and who was in control of British food production. Not the politicians or producers, it appears, but the retailers instead. Campaigns in the UK include positive action like trolley challenges, in which shopping trolleys are packed with milk cartons. In some cases the producers buy this milk and give it away to shelters for the homeless etc.
Switzerland
In Switzerland they are following protests in the EU closely. Dairy farmers in the Big-M organisation are also critical of Switzerland’s role. Swiss representatives are said to have always presented the Swiss abolition of quotas in 2009 as positive to the EU. In fact, though, it had very negative consequences for Switzerland. In this way they are said to have deceived the EU and were partly to blame for “the mess” the EU is now in. See also an interesting Blick article (in German).
France
Farmers of the French Farmers’ Organisation Coordination Rurale held a rally with a tractor convoy yesterday, August 4 in the French city of Metz in order to call attention to their difficult situation. The farmers claimed the cancellation of the land tax (tax on undeveloped land).
More information under (in French):
Le Républicain Lorrain and TV 19/20 of France 3 Lorraine, August 4 (3:20)
