Following widespread protests by farmers in Poland, politicians in the country have urged the EU Commissioner for Agriculture to step down. The protests have resulted in road blockades across the country and at border crossings with Ukraine, marking the beginning of a month-long general strike against EU policies.
Farmers in other European countries, including France, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Spain, and Germany, have also been demonstrating against EU measures to address climate change, rising costs, and what they see as unfair competition from abroad.
Polish farmers are particularly upset about the impact of cheap food imports from Ukraine, as well as what they perceive as a lack of action on the part of their government. EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has come under heavy criticism.
Deputy Prime Minister Wladysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated, “There is a man in Europe who united all European and Polish farmers against the reform he proposed. This is Janusz Wojciechowski. Resign!”
The leader of the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczynski, also took aim at Wojciechowski and indicated that he would call for the commissioner to resign.
The protests have led to road blockades at various border crossings, with Ukrainian border officials reporting significant disruptions. In central Europe, farmers have gathered at the Zahony crossing on the border between Hungary and Ukraine.
Polish media reported over 250 blockades across the country, with images showing convoys of tractors causing traffic disruptions. One protester, Wieslaw Gryn, expressed, “Today the whole of Europe is on fire. The Green Deal has arrived, which has destroyed our thinking about agriculture.”
While acknowledging the challenges faced by farmers, Poland’s agriculture minister expressed hope that the protests could be organized in a way that minimizes the impact on citizens. He stated, “Farmers have legitimate concerns, expectations, and demands to limit the excessive inflow of goods from Ukraine, as well as from other non-European markets to the EU, especially to Poland.”
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Pawel Florkiewicz and Alan Charlish; Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk and Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest; Editing by Ros Russell, William Maclean)
