June 22, 2009

The EU may act to bolster falling milk prices that are prompting Europe's dairy farmers to protest, according to a draft statement.

EU heads of state and government meeting in Brussels told the European Commission to present an in-depth market analysis within the next two months, including possible options for stabilising the dairy market, the draft said.

An EU plan to end output quotas and plummeting milk prices, which farmers said can barely cover production costs, have forced farmers to take to the streets. The EU, the world's largest milk producer, agreed in November to lift dairy production limits by one percent per year over five years before scrapping them completely in 2015.

As many as 800 dairy farmers from across Europe demonstrated in Brussels as EU leaders met Thursday (Jun 18), disrupting traffic with their tractors and setting hay bales on fire in a city park, according to Belgian media, citing police.

Many of the protestors came from Germany, as they seek to put pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel. EU leaders are discussing milk prices during the summit, Merkel said Thursday.

Dairy farmers revved their engines and blasted their horns to press their case for EU governments to rescind the November changes.

A demonstrator said the EU leaders need to do something so they can return to fair market conditions as farmers cannot survive at these prices.