They took their anger to the Polish capital. More than 10,000 farmers demonstrated in Warsaw on Tuesday. This is the largest gathering since the movement began a few weeks ago.
At the heart of their demands, Ukrainian agricultural products, exempt from customs duties in the European Union. A measure that these farmers describe as unfair competition. They also reject the European Green Deal, considered too restrictive.
The demonstration took place in front of the Polish Parliament. Inside, a delegation of farmers was received by the President of the National Assembly.
“No one intended to cause food insecurity in Poland and weaken Polish farmers. But you have to realize that not everything goes as planned. The outrage and anger are understandable. But the protests that you organized have reached such a point that instead of being with your families and instead of being on your farms, managing them, you have to come to Warsaw to fight for what is important to YOU“, said Szymon Holownia, speaker of the lower house of the Polish Parliament.
Despite this conciliatory statement, the farmers considered this meeting unsatisfactory. Their movement created serious tensions between Poland and Ukraine.
“We hope that the Polish side will be able to find solutions that will allow us to resolve the situation inside the country. From our side, I can say that the situation is completely under control, we are meeting our obligations and are not creating any risk for the Polish market“, said Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
The farmers plan to demonstrate until March 28, when the Polish and Ukrainian governments are scheduled to meet for talks in Warsaw.
