[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] - Farmers across the continent have been protesting for weeks against grievances including taxes, rising costs, cheap imports, climate policies and bureaucracy
- As many as 2,000 trucks are stranded outside the Port of Zeebrugge in Bruges
Meanwhile Germany, which was hit by farmer demonstrations earlier this month, is now also facing a bruising public transport strike.
As 90,000 public transport workers were called on to walk off the job on Friday, bus and tram stations across the country ground to a standstill, disrupting millions of commuters and travellers.
The 24-hour strike, called by labour union Verdi in all federal states except Bavaria, is the latest in a series of industrial actions that have plagued the country's transportation sector in recent weeks.
Central to Verdi's demands are improved working conditions, it said in a statement, listing reduced working hours and increased holiday entitlement as requested measures.
'We have a dramatic shortage of labour in public transport and incredible pressure on employees. Buses and trains are cancelled every day in all fare zones because there are not enough staff,' Verdi deputy chairwoman, Christine Behle, said Monday.
Youth and climate movement Fridays for Future
| ...the formal name of autistic Swedish teen Greta Thunberg’s onging temper tantrum on the climate. As she enters adulthood, her worldwide group is graduating from Black Bloc ally to Black Bloc... |
said 60 of its local branches supported the industrial action.
On Thursday, a strike by security staff at 11 German airports had affected 200,000 travellers and led to around 1,100 flight cancellations or delays, the German airports association ADV said.
Disruptions were set to continue in Hamburg, where Verdi called on ground service staff to strike from 3am (0200 GMT) on Friday until midnight.
Friday's protests followed a demonstration on Thursday outside the European Union's Brussels headquarters as the EU's leaders overcame months of opposition from Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to agree 50 billion euros of aid for Ukraine.
But the farmers wanted their issues on the agenda too. They clogged roads around the summit with 1,300 tractors in a show of strength, lighting fires and pulling down a city statue. They also burned bales of hay and threw eggs and fireworks at police, who formed a protective ring around the building.
Inside, eager to reassure a key part of the electorate and end disruption in several cities, leaders at a European Union summit in Brussels showered the farmers with compliments and compassion - if few concrete proposals. Most leaders at Thursday's summit were keen to win over farmers ahead of EU parliamentary elections in June, especially as populist and hard-right politicians have latched on to their plight in recent weeks. 
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