On Wednesday, June 4, the angry fishermen blocked the EU base in Brussels and demand the EU to do more to ease high fuel prices. The fishermen threw flares and firecrackers at police across barricades and many waved flags or held up banners demanding action. There were hundreds of riot police deployed, and officers used barricades and water cannons to prevent the protesters from getting too close to EU buildings.
All through the week fishermen and truck drivers across Europe have protested and demand government aid to help compensate for the high fuel costs that they say are threatening their livelihoods. Due to excise taxes the Europeans are faced with higher fuel prices than elsewhere. EU leaders have put the problem on top of their June 19-20 summit agenda.
Fishermen delegation has met briefly outside the European Commission on Wednesday with senior EU officials to outline their plight and demand emergency aid. Pierre D’Acunto, a fishermen representative from the southern French port town of Sete on the Mediterranean coast, told that to have a sustainable fishery we need to have cheaper fuel prices. He added that it is impossible to work with these prices.
Patrick Tabone, a senior official from the office of EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, offered no immediate aid to the protesters but recommended the fishermen accept calls for a mass overhaul of Europe’s fisheries sector, including cutting back the size of fleets to prevent overfishing and to cut costs.
According to D’Acunto European fishermen would continue their protests across Europe and picket EU agriculture and fisheries ministers talks planned for Luxembourg later this month.
