Overview
- In Brussels, thousands of farmers and hundreds of tractors blocked key routes and marched to oppose proposed Common Agricultural Policy cuts and the EU–Mercosur trade pact.
- Police deployed water cannon and tear gas after confrontations near EU institutions, with local media reporting damage around the European Parliament area.
- The protests coincided with an EU leaders’ summit as Ursula von der Leyen pressed for Mercosur approval, even as France and Italy maintained objections despite newly agreed safeguard clauses.
- Organizers expected 8,000–10,000 participants, arguing planned budget changes would reduce PAC support by roughly 20%–30% and undermine family farms and EU food security.
- In Mexico, transport leaders reported agreements to review state police checkpoints under National Guard supervision and to implement a panic‑button program, pausing strike plans pending ratification while farmer groups kept nationwide blockades as an option.