What is driving Poland's farmer protests?

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On Wednesday, an estimated 70,000 Polish farmers blocked more than 550 roads across Poland as part of their ongoing protest against the EU's Green Deal and the access of Ukrainian food imports to the bloc's market. After one month of mass protests, Poland's government wants to resolve the dispute.

On Wednesday morning, about 80 farmers parked their tractors at a motorway intersection outside the town of Legionowa, 30km north of Warsaw.

Farmers groups in other EU countries have also protested against it in recent weeks. They say the changes are too costly and threaten their livelihoods. After Russia’s full-scale invasion, the EU granted Ukrainian food producers access to the bloc's single market. Another protesting farmer, Agnieszka Wlodarska, also from Pułtusk county, said it was a difficult time for farmers.Ms Wlodarska and her husband are grain and fruit producers.

The country's farming sector modernised quickly after accession to the EU in 2004. There are fewer farms in Poland today than there were 20 years, but they are now larger and generally more specialised. Early on Wednesday this week, the same day as the planned mass blockades, Polish agriculture minister Czeslaw Siekierski, signed a deal with representatives of the main Polish farmers’ unions to reach a compromise.

Opposition parties, she said, were likely to take advantage of the protests before local elections on 7 April and European Parliament elections in early June. Polling across the EU shows that the European Parliament main far-right bloc may increase its share of MEPs by between 28 to 40 seats, which would give it a almost 100 seats in parliament.His party, Civic Platform party, is also a member of the EPP, and wants to avoid becoming the object of an anti-establishment vote from farmers' groups.

But a provisional deal struck mid-week by negotiators for the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU presidency plans to introduce caps on imports of Ukrainian poultry, eggs and sugar.Wheat and barley are not on the list of capped goods, which will displease many Polish farmers.Concessions have also been granted on the Green Deal.

 

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