Thousands of Polish farmers marched in the streets of Warsaw Tuesday to continue protesting the European Union's Green Deal regulations which have placed constraints on growth within the agricultural sector of the bloc.
This has led to unfair competition outside the EU and particularly with Ukraine, which has not faced the same restrictions and has received breaks on taxes due to the war.
The protests, Reuters reports, increasingly escalated with flares, smoke and sirens in fiery demonstrations through the capital towards parliament and the Prime Minister's office.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was in Prague Tuesday where he said that his government could potentially widen a standing national ban of Ukrainian grains to other agricultural and food products if the EU does not respond to demand to protect its own markets.
The ban on grains was extended last year.
"We are talking about it with the Ukrainian side - that it will be necessary to expand the embargo to other products if the European Union does not find more effective ways to protect the European and Polish markets," Tusk said on Tuesday.
The EU decided to open its borders to imports of Ukrainian food products in 2022 after the Russia invasion, which was the beginning of many of the issues for farmers across its member countries. This, with the addition of restrictions implemented by climate czars, have pushed farmers over the edge.
"We are protesting because we want the 'green deal' to be lifted, as it will lead our farms to bankruptcy with its costs... that are not comparable to what we harvest and to what we are paid," said Kamil Wojciechowski, 31, a farmer from Izbica Kujawska in central Poland.
A city hall official estimated around 10,000 farmers turned out Tuesday for the march.
This has led to unfair competition outside the EU and particularly with Ukraine, which has not faced the same restrictions and has received breaks on taxes due to the war.
The protests, Reuters reports, increasingly escalated with flares, smoke and sirens in fiery demonstrations through the capital towards parliament and the Prime Minister's office.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was in Prague Tuesday where he said that his government could potentially widen a standing national ban of Ukrainian grains to other agricultural and food products if the EU does not respond to demand to protect its own markets.
The ban on grains was extended last year.
"We are talking about it with the Ukrainian side - that it will be necessary to expand the embargo to other products if the European Union does not find more effective ways to protect the European and Polish markets," Tusk said on Tuesday.
The EU decided to open its borders to imports of Ukrainian food products in 2022 after the Russia invasion, which was the beginning of many of the issues for farmers across its member countries. This, with the addition of restrictions implemented by climate czars, have pushed farmers over the edge.
"We are protesting because we want the 'green deal' to be lifted, as it will lead our farms to bankruptcy with its costs... that are not comparable to what we harvest and to what we are paid," said Kamil Wojciechowski, 31, a farmer from Izbica Kujawska in central Poland.
A city hall official estimated around 10,000 farmers turned out Tuesday for the march.
