Farmers stage protest outside European Parliament

By Esra Taskin

PARIS (AA) - A group of farmers held a demonstration Tuesday outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Gathering outside the parliament, two farmers’ groups protested against a proposed regulation on certain new genomic techniques (NGTs) in the European Union.

The proposed law does not provide enough protection against the contamination of crops with new genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are obtained through NGTs.

It could also violate the fundamental rights of farmers to property and the freedom to run a business because it does not provide sufficient protection against the contamination of crops with new GMOs, according to the international environmental group Greenpeace.

Some farmers attended the demonstration in bee and cow costumes while others arrived with their tractors, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Another group held a gathering in the same area to protest the import of products grown against French rules.

The protest came amid growing anger by the sector in some parts of Europe including Italy, Spain and Switzerland over taxes, rising costs and cheap imports.