Warsaw. Farmers' protest in the center

On Friday, a farmers' protest took place in the center of Warsaw. A delegation of farmers was admitted to the European Commission delegation. The participants ended the protest in front of the National Theater, where in the evening a gala was held to celebrate the beginning of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Warsaw City Hall reported that, according to estimates, about 1,500 people took part in the protest.

Friday's protest, organized by the Agreement of Agricultural Organizations, took place under the slogan “5 x stop” – farmers demonstrated their opposition to the European Union – Mercosur agreement, the Green Deal, imports from Ukraine, “destruction of Polish forests and hunting” and “extinction of the Polish economy” . Representatives of agricultural organizations fear that the EU trade agreement with Mercosur, i.e. South American countries, will flood the European market with cheap and “possibly harmful” products from Brazil or Argentina.

Demonstrators gathered at 2 p.m. in front of the EC representative office in Warsaw; a delegation of protesters entered the building and handed over a petition to the commission's representatives, demanding, among other things, stopping the Green Deal and the EU-Mercosur agreement. Then, the participants of the demonstration moved near the Grand Theater, where a ceremonial ceremony was held in the evening inauguration of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Warsaw City Hall reported that, according to estimates, about 1,500 people took part in the protest. Representatives of the organizers said they would be able to provide more accurate estimates on Saturday.

The protest was peaceful. The protesters, who came to Jasna Street with, among other things, flags and trumpets, listened to the speeches of the organizers and representatives of the protesting agricultural organizations and associations. The organizers appealed not to use pyrotechnics during the protest and the march through Warsaw. At the end of the meeting, they sang the Polish anthem together.

Farmers' protest in the center of the capital

Why did farmers protest?

Deputy Prime Minister and president of PSL, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, wrote on the X platform that “the government and farmers speak with one voice regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement.” “Our common opposition is unambiguous. The beginning of the Polish presidency of the EU Council is an opportunity for this voice to be heard even stronger in Brussels. We stand and will stand on the side of the Polish countryside and Polish farmers!” – he assured.

Banners and slogans

During the demonstration, farmers carried banners with the inscriptions: “Mercosur = collapse of Polish agriculture”, “Down with the Green Deal, a criminal agreement for Poland”, “Enough of the absurdities of the EU agri-climate policy”, “Green no deal”, “Green deal = eco-terrorism”, “Sorry for the inconvenience, we have the green deal to overthrow”, “Polexit” and “Chain law = collapse of Polish breeding”. The protest was attended by, among others, PiS presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki. – Today, here is the place of every candidate for the office of President of the Republic of Poland who thinks in Polish. There are farmers here who are concerned about what is happening in Poland today – on the one hand, the “green madness” and the Green Deal, on the other hand, the upcoming Mercosur agreement, which attacks the Polish farmer – argued Nawrocki. Those speaking in front of the EC headquarters opposed, among other things, the opening of the border with Ukraine to the flow of goods and the admission of Ukraine to the EU. They repeated that the Mercosur agreement could not be ratified and claimed that EU countries would soon be flooded with goods from Ukraine. – Our forefathers and fathers thought they had overthrown communism, but the commune in Brussels is doing well and is taking away our freedom – said Marcin Wroński from Samoobrona. According to him, Ukrainian corn is already replacing Polish corn in Germany, and Ukrainian grain enters Poland through Hungary. – The funds want to take over our land. We will either be farmers or farmhands, argued Wroński.

Urszula Suchocka, one of the members of the farmers' delegation invited to the EC representative office, said that “nothing came of this meeting.” – We asked for a meeting (of the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen – ed.) directly with the agricultural community to discuss (…) abandoning these assumptions, which are harmful to our country and our agriculture – she added.

The Minister of Agriculture is waiting for detailed demands

Minister of Agriculture Czesław Siekierski said that he expected protesters to submit detailed demands. Siekierski, quoted in the ministry's announcement, recalled that the Polish government is clearly against concluding an agreement with Mercosur on agricultural issues and that it is trying to build a minority blocking this agreement, with France and other countries.

Regarding the demand to stop imports from Ukraine, Siekierski stated that the “uncontrolled import of goods and grains” has been stopped and the situation at the border is controlled and monitored. The minister noted that at the request of the Polish government and with the support of protesting farmers, the European Commission and the European Parliament changed the regulations of the Green Deal, simplifying and relaxing the “irrational provisions”.

The minister added that it is necessary to introduce sustainable hunting management that will limit the damage to wild animals in plant production, fishing and ASF.