Italian farmers demanding the immediate resignation of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have taken to the streets in Rome and Brussels. Their protests center on Brussels’ failed agricultural policy.
Italy’s largest farmers’ association and lobbying group, Coldiretti, organized the actions, saying that the European Commission’s decisions have caused ten times more damage to the EU’s agriculture than the U.S. tariff threats. The protesters say leadership in Brussels is building “an empire of its own” while ignoring member states and their citizens, reports Hungairan news outlet Origo.
The farmers also say that while Accusing von der Leyen of creating her own “Vonderland,” the farmers held pictures of von der Leyen, alongside banners declaring her responsible for the collapse of European agriculture and food production, while also disregarding the democratic rights of the member states, their governments and their citizens.
Farmers protested not only in Rome, but also in Brussels, a few steps from the European Commission.
“Welcome to Vonderland. This is not Europe,” read a massive banner with VdL’s image hung on the front of the Farm Europe headquarters. The statement was repeated on numerous signs held by protesters in Brussels and multiple spots in Rome, as well as the message: “Don’t turn off democracy. Don’t turn off health. Don’t turn off food safety. Don’t turn off agriculture.”
One speaker at the demonstrations, Ettore Pandini, accused the EU commission president of “trampling on European farmers and democracy, humiliating the member states, and ignoring the opinions of European citizens and the future of the continent.”
He further accused Brussels of using agricultural funds on weapons and opening the European market to poor-quality, primarily Chinese, goods.
He even blamed von der Leyen for President Trump’s threat of a 30 percent tariff on European products, saying his move came as a result of her “incompetence.”
“European farmers are not asking for privileges, but for respect for the daily work they do to ensure food safety, protect the environment and preserve the land,” Pandini said.
Vincenzo Gesmundo, secretary general of Coldiretti, also harshly criticized von der Leyen’s policies, saying the commission had betrayed Europe.
“A blind and arrogant technocracy operates behind the closed walls of the commission,” he said, adding that it distorts the original spirit of the European Union, which was originally created to unite peoples, not to oppress them.
“It ignores the positions of the European Parliament, the member states and its own commissioners. It makes decisions that are contrary to the interests of European farmers and businesses.Without free agriculture there is no sovereignty, and without food there is no peace – only war. We will use all means to prevent Europe from becoming a Vonderland,” Gesmundo said.
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