Farmers take fight over pricing to centre of Brussels

Burning tyres sent plumes of black smoke into the air just metres from where EU Agriculture Ministers were meeting and police in riot gear held back thousands of farmers angry at falling prices for their produce.

The sounds were deafening as the protestors threw fire crackers and honked the horns of their massive tractors and lorries that blocked most of the streets around Brussels’ EU quarter.

Irish farmers were among the estimated 5,000 from all over the EU that brought their grievances about falling prices for milk, pork, and other food stuffs to the doorstep of the special meeting of agriculture ministers.