Hundreds of farmers descended upon Brussels on Monday, clashing with police, spraying officers with manure, and pelting EU buildings with eggs as they protested outside an agricultural summit being held in the city.

Chaotic scenes broke out in Brussels with farmers protesting the European Union’s green agenda and plans to ink a free trade deal with the South American ‘Mercosur’ bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which farmers in Europe fear will serve to further undercut their prices and threaten their ability to stay in business.

As hundreds of tractors amassed in the de-facto EU capital, including farmers from as far away as Italy and Spain, police in Brussels attempted to erect barricades to block the farmers from entering areas of the city centre.