* Farm ministers seek solutions for dairy sector
* Farmers protest outside EU headquarters in Brussels
* No firm decisions expected from meeting
* EU Commission experts to look at long-term solutions
* Farmers want milk quotas reduced, production curbs
(Adds Fischer Boel remarks, expert group)
By Bate Felix
BRUSSELS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Over three hundred protesting dairy farmers from across Europe gathered with tractors outside European Union headquarters in Brussels on Monday ahead of a farm ministers' meeting over the crisis in the milk sector.
The extraordinary meeting was called at the request of France, which is pushing for fresh measures to counter a slide in prices that prompted a delivery boycott by milk farmers.
The ministers were discussing proposals put forward by France and solutions suggested earlier by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm in charge of farm policy, but it was unlikely these would result in any new decisions.
The French proposal for new dairy regulations has won the support of a majority of the EU's 27 member countries, but EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has said many of their suggestions had already been implemented or discussed.
"It simply is not possible to make formal proposals today," Fischer Boel told the ministers in her opening remarks.
She said some of her earlier solutions to help the farmers were already working, citing a gradual increase in dairy prices.
"We haven't officially received all data yet, but it looks as though the average European milk price in August was 26 euro cents per litre, up from 25 cents in July. In September, it is expected to be even higher," she said.
Fischer Boel said a proposed high-level group of experts would begin meeting next week to look at medium and long-term solutions including contractual issues between producers and dairies and a possible dairy futures market.
TOO MUCH MILK
Protesting dairy farmers suspended their delivery boycott last week to await the outcome of the meeting, but have warned that they would restart the strike and harden their position if their demands are not met.
Some farmers hurled eggs, waved flags and placards and rang cowbells, while others let off firecrackers and chanted behind barricades manned by police in riot gear.
"We intend to take the protest very far if they don't listen to us," warned Regis Mainguy, a dairy farmer wearing a cow costume and waving a French flag. "This is no longer funny. If it means we become violent, then so be it," Mainguy said.
The farmers want the Commission to remove excess milk from the market and cut milk quotas by 5 percent to boost prices. The EU said in 2003 it planned to phase out the quota system by March 2015.
"We want to make sure that demand and supply are in line, we want to reduce the quantity of milk produced in Europe and we want decisions that will take care of that," said Romuald Schaber, president of the European Milk Board, a dairy union representing over 140,000 farmers.
"There is simply too much milk. We all need to reduce the amount of milk we produce, but no one can act on his or her own. This is why we need to have a European system or framework." For factbox on EU milk output and quotas, click For factbox on EU dairy sector profile: (Editing by James Jukwey)