Belgian farmers block roads on fourth day of protests

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HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Farmers blocked more roads in Belgium on Wednesday in an attempt to complicate operations at major ports and push for more concessions that would give them better prices for their products and less bureaucracy to do their jobs.

The marches, which lasted four days and were part of the agrarian protests in the European Union, included only a few hundred trucks that complicated traffic in the country of 11.5 million inhabitants. Hundreds of thousands of Belgians have had difficulty going to work or have had medical appointments canceled due to the protests.

Farmers are also planning to protest outside EU headquarters during Thursday’s summit of heads of government. In neighboring France, protesters have dumped manure in front of government offices and laid siege to Paris with barricades cutting off traffic with tractors and straw bales.

Despite widespread complications, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s government has managed the protests, which have been mostly peaceful, with extreme caution.

“It’s important that we listen to them,” De Croo said. “They face enormous challenges” such as adapting to climate change and combating environmental pollution, he said.

Belgium holds the EU presidency and De Croo said he would address the issue during the summit, added at the last minute to an agenda focused on providing aid to Ukraine after the Russian invasion almost two years ago.