New farmer protest in Brussels on Feb 26 - Coldiretti

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 13 - Italian and European farmers are to return to Brussels to protest on February 26 and "as often as necessary" until the European Union provides exhaustive answers to their demands, Italian farmers' association Coldiretti President Ettore Prandini said after a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Tuesday.
    Prandini said farmers are also expecting answers on the "issue of reciprocity" of production standards in trade agreements with third countries.
    "There is still no clear proposal on how this is to be regulated in real terms," he said.
    On February 1 angry farmers from across the EU gathered outside the European Parliament in Brussels to protest against agricultural and climate policies and general hardship in the sector.
    Prandini also distanced himself from the Italian tractor movement, many of whose demands he said are "confused".
    "Beyond the headlines, many of the demands of the tractors are confused: we prefer to turn protests into proposals," he told La Repubblica newspaper in an interview published ahead of his meeting with Metsola.
    "It is in Europe that we must make our voice heard even more," he added.
    Coldiretti, said Prandini, "is the largest farmers' organisation in Europe: we must take responsibility and work for concrete answers".
    "That is why we will be in Brussels on February 26, on the occasion of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers," he added.
    (ANSA).