Polish farmers against a harmful agreement with Mercosur and Green Deal

pch24.pl 7 months ago

Blocking the Mercosur Agreement and halting Green Deal and working on a fresh version of the alleged Fives for animals – these are any of the demands of farmers who organized protests in different places in the country on Tuesday. Manifestations and roadblocks took place, among others, in Elbląg, Koszalin, Tarnogrod, Oleck and Kętrzyn.

The president of the Elbląg assembly of farmers Damian Murawiec stated in an interview with PAP that Tuesday's protest should be treated as a warning. – If the government doesn't actually work to block the Mercosur deal, all the unions and farming groups will get along and we'll make specified a protest that hey – he said. He added that the blocking of the agreement between the European Union and the countries of South America is the main request of protesting farmers, but, as he stressed, they besides request consistent blocking of the Green Deal and do not want any work on the so-called. 5 for animals.

More than 50 agricultural tractors came to Kazimierzów close Elbląg. Many of them were decorated with white and red flags, many machines carried banners with slogans, specified as "Mercosur is the death of Polish agriculture" or "The Commissioner's policy will finish the host".

– We don't want to make people's lives more difficult, so we're just gonna drive around town, we're not gonna block them permanently. We are here to get the residents to know that food from outside the European Union is filled with chemicals. We fight for everyone. – indicated the farmer.

Damian Murawiec said that farmers came to Elbląg from the vicinity of Nowy Dwór Gdańsk, Sztum, Malbork, Braniew, Ostróda and even Podlasie. – Those who are far distant were driving in cars to show our determination – he noted.

The demonstrators with whom the PAP spoke said that their presence at the protest was a sign that they did not believe this government was looking for allies to block Mercosur. – The PSL has always turned farmers to the another side, and the Platform on agriculture does not know. Time to change government – the farmer from Nowy Dwór Gdańsk assessed. Another added that “He never trusted and trusted Tusk.” However, the slogan against the government was not on tractors, and Damian Murawiec, the organizer of the assembly, stressed that "farmers are in dialog with the government".

W About 20 farmers gathered in front of the delegation of the West Pomeranian Provincial Office. They presented a petition with requests for the Mercosur, Green Deal and “Animal Friday” agreement to the manager of the ZUW delegation Maciej Słomce.

– We don't want to block roads and torment society due to the fact that society's sick of it. We want to bring people to our postulates. We want to make them aware that we will all feel the effects of the Mercosur Agreement or the "chain law" [the fresh Animal Protection Act]. Not just farmers, but all citizens, consumers said protest initiator Patrick Turowski, farmer from Nowy Bielic close Koszalin, maker of cereals and oil plants. He stressed that he represented the Bottom-up National Farmers Protest, not union organizations. He announced that OOPR was planning protests before Christmas in front of the offices of MPs and senators from the Koskolinski region. “Maybe we will picket at their homes too,” he said. – Also in thought is the business of the provincial office in Szczecin – he added.

Columns of respective twelve tractors slowed traffic on the roads in 3 places of the Lublin Voivodeship. About 50 tractors in the column utilized to ride national road 17 on the Tarnawatka-Tarnawatka route. – They didn't block the road, but the traffic was obstructed, tractors moving slow – informed young asp. Aneta Brzyczyca of the Police territory Command in Tomaszów Lubelski.

A akin protest was held in the village of Białopole in Chełm district. In a column of about 40 tractors, the participants drove by provincial road No 844 a fewer kilometres both ways. – The traffic was slow. There were no dangerous events on the road said DCI Ewa Czyż of the City Police office in Chełma.

W Tarnogrod in Bijgoraj territory protesting farmers in a column of about 30 tractors passed a tiny section of the regional road 835 and returned to Tarnogrod, where, as the aspirant Joanna Klimek of the Police territory Command in Biłgoraj said, they ended the protest.

In Oleck (Warmia-Masurian) participants of the protest gathered in Freedom Square, where they listened to the speeches. Then a column of over 20 agricultural tractors drove to Elcka Street and blocked the intersection with the bypass. The blockade prevents crossing this section of the bypass towards Gołdapi, drivers had to usage the tour along Olecka Streets. In Kętrzyn, a three-hour protest of farmers consisted of respective crossings of about 30 tractors designated by the streets of the city. In the opinion of the police, this did not origin much difficulty in the movement.

The EU and Mercosur, consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, agreed in June 2019, after 20 years of talks, to make a free trade area for 700 million people. However, the agreement has not yet been accepted.

The European Commission considers that the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement will benefit the EU as a whole, in peculiar with respect to the industrial sector, maritime transport, but besides with respect to certain segments of agri-food production.

On 26 November, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland would not accept the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement in its current form. The Ministry of Agriculture expressed its opposition to the agreement.

According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Green Deal proposals have managed to get a number of modifications to be beneficial for Polish farmers. This abolition of the work to make 4% of arable land fall under the introduction of the additional eco-schema “Deprivated land” for which farmers will receive an additional payment from the area. Another modification is the option to choose between diversification and change; farmers may usage either crop diversification (i.e. different crops) or change (i.e. a circumstantial consequence of crop cultivation). The next amendment is simplification in the standard on the work to keep the dirt cover, including a fresh deadline for maintaining the dirt cover. In addition, farms up to 10 hectares of agricultural land will not be subject to sanctions related to the implementation of environmental standards (the alleged conditionality), the Ministry emphasises.

The Minister of Agriculture Czesław Siekierski repeatedly declared that in the first half of 2025, during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, Poland will proceed to discuss solutions inactive existing in the Green Order. In addition, it will propose maintaining the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy after 2027.