Farmers across the European Union staged a series of massive and coordinated protests against the EU’s agricultural and trade policies, with Brussels as the epicenter on December 18, 2025. The mobilization brought together thousands of farmers and livestock producers from more than 25 countries, who blocked streets with hundreds of tractors in front of European institutions during a summit of EU leaders.
Protesters voiced their opposition to the EU–Mercosur trade agreement, arguing that it would open markets to agricultural products from South American countries with less stringent standards, thereby undermining the competitiveness of European farmers. They also denounced proposed cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and reforms to the EU’s multiannual financial framework, which they say threaten the economic viability of the rural sector.
These demonstrations add to other protest actions in countries such as France and Greece, where farmers have likewise opposed trade agreements and EU policies they consider harmful to their production and livelihoods.
