Farmers block a highway on the Dutch-German border, in protest against the Dutch government's nitrogen plans. Photo / AP
Farmers block a highway on the Dutch-German border, in protest against the Dutch government's nitrogen plans. Photo / AP
Lauded by Mick Jagger and vilified by their own prime minister, Dutch farmers are giving Europe a taste of the backlash the Continent faces in its drive towards net-zero emissions.
Huge protests have swept the Netherlands triggered by the introduction of new laws designed to cut nitrogen and ammonia emissions, by up to 95 per cent in certain areas, from its agricultural sector.
Inspired by the "freedom convoys" which began in Canada and saw truck drivers bring major roads to a standstill in protest at Covid vaccine mandates, tractors are blockading supermarkets and industrial complexes across the Netherlands, at a cost of tens of millions of euros to businesses and the economy.
The demonstrations, some of which have turned violent, materialise with little notice and are organised via secretive channels on the Telegram messaging app.
Huge protests have swept the Netherlands triggered by the introduction of new laws designed to cut nitrogen and ammonia emissions. Photo / AP
They are a sign of the growing discontent among European farmers faced with spiralling fertiliser costs owing to the war in Ukraine and demands to cut down on emissions. In Britain, unions have urged Downing Street to give them more time to overhaul their businesses to make them more sustainable.
The working-class uprising has not only won over the support of the Rolling Stones frontman and popular conservative broadcasters in the US, but the Dutch public is also siding with the farmers.
Recent polling showed the Farmer-Citizen Movement, formed three years ago in response to the climate laws, would secure 11 parliamentary seats if a general election was to be held now. Dutch fishermen have also joined the protests, blockading ports.
Earlier this week, police opened fire on Jouke Hospes, a 16-year-old who was driving one of his father's tractors, and two others, at a demonstration in the Friesland region.
Farmers blocked the entrance to Groningen Airport. Photo / Getty Images
On Friday, when The Telegraph visited the Netherlands, hundreds of businesses across three towns were brought to a complete standstill by three separate demonstrations, which came and went with very little warning.
Among the main targets for the farmers are supermarket warehouses, which has resulted in empty shelves.
However, the demonstrators insist it is not their wish to infuriate their fellow countrymen but to force the government to stage a referendum on its climate change legislation.
At their protest in Eerbeek, a small town some 95km east of Amsterdam, farmers moved their tractors to make room for two funeral processions to pass their blockade and handed out food and coffee to the policemen drafted in to watch over them.
The festival-like atmosphere was a stark contrast to the violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcers at recent protests, including during a blockade of Groningen Airport.
Their fight to protect family businesses, some of which have been passed down from fathers to sons over the past two centuries, has had a polarising effect.
The Rolling Stones perform on stage during Stones Sixty Europe 2022 Tour in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Photo / Getty Images
Back in Amsterdam, Jagger gave the farmers a celebratory shout-out – in Dutch – during the Rolling Stones' gig at the Johan Cruyff Arena: "Zijn er ook boeren?" ("Are there any farmers in the house?")
In contrast, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, has described them as "a******** in private and publicly raised questions over their right to protest.
"It is not acceptable to create dangerous situations. It is not acceptable to intimidate officials," he said last week.
Back in Eerbeek, where demonstrators blockaded an industrial estate, on which 113 firms are based, Rutte was accused of going into hiding and refusing to negotiate with the farmers.
"Where is our prime minister? This country is on fire and the farmers are standing up to the government," an English-speaking spokesman said while giving a hastily-arranged press conference from atop a hay bale.
"Their rules and regulations seem not to be political. The rules and regulations are 'scientific', and you can't stand up against that," they added.
"We say make the rules and regulations in this country political again, have a discussion and make it a choice."
Chief among the farmers' fears is that the new climate rules are Dutch, and not dictated by the European Union, meaning there is an open door for supermarkets to opt for cheap foreign imports.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Photo / Getty Images
Negotiations have started between the government and farming unions amid mounting concerns the demonstration could become a Dutch version of the yellow vest protests in France.
It is already noted by officials that the movement could explode into a broader public protest against net-zero, attracting far-Right groups to the unrest, as they did during the Canadian freedom convoy demonstrations.
For the Dutch farmers, it is solely about protecting their centuries-old way of life as Western governments impose tough climate targets.
Under the proposed laws, the green transition will force many of them to make massive cuts to their livestock herds.
This, they argue, will put an end to the Netherlands as the globe's second-largest exporter of agricultural products, only second behind the United States.
