Over a thousand Polish farmers marched through Warsaw on Friday to protest a European trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc, shortly after the deal was approved by a majority of European Union nations in Brussels.
Several demonstrators arrived in tractors, though the vehicles were not allowed into the city center, and participants carried flags, wore yellow vests, and set off fireworks and flares.
Farmers argued that the deal threatens Poland’s agriculture by exposing local producers to unfair competition. “This will kill our agriculture in Poland,” said Janusz Sampolski, a farmer from a village south of Gdansk, some 340 kilometers away. He added that the agreement could threaten Poland’s food security “in the event of the threat of war”.
Poland joined France, Ireland, Austria, and Hungary in voting against the measure. In contrast, most of the 27 EU member states approved it.
Protesters also raised concerns about food safety. Farmer Przemyslaw Zbroinski stated
Food will be coming to us… produced using pesticides that have been banned in the European Union.
The farmer from the Gdansk region also noted that for nearly 30 years some of these substances have been banned.
Zbroinski warned that the protests are likely only the beginning: “It will definitely end with much harsher and larger strikes, and blockades of countries and capitals,” he predicted.
