BRUSSELS - Dairy farmers sprayed thousands of litres of fresh milk at
the European Parliament in Brussels to protest excessive milk quotas and prices
below the cost of production, reports Reuters news agency.
Hundreds of farmers and tractors from across Europe gathered in a park
near the European Commission and a square in front of the parliament after
blocking traffic along several of Brussels' busiest streets.
Then they hosed parliament with milk, drenching the huge marble, glass
and steel buildings on a Brussels square;
Some rained on police and passers-by.
Afterwards the farmers lit bales of hay and a pile of tires, sending
plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.
The European Milk Board, which coordinated the two-day protest, said
prices with current quotas were putting small farmers out of business.
