Blockade the harbor! Operations shutdown! Protests erupt at major European ports

According to Reuters, Europe's second-largest container port - Belgium's Port Of Antwerp (Port Of Antwerp) because of access to the port roads were blocked by protest crowds and vehicles, resulting in serious impacts on the port's operations were forced to shut down.

Hundreds of striking Belgian farmers are reported to have blocked roads around the port of Antwerp, demanding that the authorities improve the welfare and working conditions of the country's farmers. The authorities stated that the roads and tunnels leading to the port had been blocked by some 500 tractors.

The farmers are demonstrating because they feel disadvantaged by dissatisfaction with the government's agricultural policies, declining incomes and, most importantly, European environmental standards. They demanded more lenient environmental regulations and better defense against cheap imports flooding the market.

"Port operations are seriously disrupted," said Stephan Van Fraechem, head of the Alfaport VOKA port operators' association.

"With farmers blocking the roads with their tractors, trucks have stopped running and therefore cannot deliver or pick up goods, while employees are only allowed in after a long wait."

This has allegedly cost companies working at the port millions of euros as the protests continue, even though they were not involved in the clashes.

The protests had further exacerbated the plight of port operators, especially with the recent attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.

He noted that the attacks have caused shipping companies to move away from the Suez Canal in favor of longer routes. But when cargo arrives at the port, it cannot be loaded or unloaded in time because of the strikes. This will also lead to delays in cargo processing.

A spokesman for the port said, "Multiple roads are blocked, traffic is disrupted and trucks are lined up. The supply chain has been disrupted and ships that are now working beyond their normal schedules are arriving at the port unable to unload their cargo. This is a matter of great concern."

In early February, a similar incident occurred at another Belgian port, where some 2,000 trucks were stranded in the port area of Zeebrugge due to a blockade by protesting farmers, according to the Belgian news agency (Belga) on February 2 local time.

Protesting farmers have blocked access to the Zeebrugge port area since Jan. 30 local time, leaving trucks stranded in the area and truckers without access to food or sanitation infrastructure, according to the report.On Feb. 1, the governor of West Flanders, where Zeebrugge is located, de Kaluwi, declared a state of emergency in the province.

In addition to Belgium, a dozen other European countries such as France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands have recently launched a large number of strike actions similar to those launched by farmers for benefits such as welfare and government subsidies. And these strikes are using port blockades as their biggest bargaining chip ......

In response, the head of France's largest agricultural union, FNSEA, warned Tuesday that the protests that hit the industry last month (blocking the nation's highways) could happen again if the government doesn't do more to meet their demands for higher wages and working conditions.

Italian farmers also held demonstrations in the capital Rome and many other places on Feb. 15 to protest against the negative impact of EU policies on agriculture and to demand more support from their government for farm operators.

In addition to Rome, farmers' protests of varying sizes took place that day in the Italian regions of Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio and Sicily.

In early January, in protest against the German federal government's plan to phase out subsidies for agricultural diesel fuel. Striking bands of angry German farmers used tractors to blockade the port of Hamburg, the country's largest port and Europe's third largest container port.

Following the strike, shipping giant Maersk was also the first to issue an emergency notice to all its customers and warned that serious delays in inland transportation were expected and that shipments might not be delivered at all.

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