Polish farmers and opponents of Ukrainian imports and EU policies staged a violent protest the day before.
In Poland on Wednesday, farmers staged their most violent protests in years. As a result, some protesters threw stones at the police and tried to push the barriers around the parliament, injuring some police.
Law enforcement officials responded with tear gas and said they detained more than a dozen people trying to enter the Seimas.
Violent clashes with the police
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of farmers, as well as miners, foresters and hunters, clashed violently with police outside the country’s parliament in Warsaw. First, protesters gathered near the Prime Minister’s office, lighting tires and fireworks.
They then headed towards the parliament and tried to attack the Sejm premises. Some protesters threw stones, paving stones and firecrackers at the police. Because of this, law enforcers used batons, pepper spray, tear gas and stun grenades against the demonstrators.
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kerwinski said “23 provocateurs have been detained.”
Farmers’ union leader and protest organizer Tomasz Obszanski said protesters “left Warsaw empty-handed” after their request to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was rejected, and warned of further protests.
“After what happened today, there will be a nationwide blockade… Poland will be at a dead end, because the Polish peasant will not allow himself to be treated like this, to be beaten with batons,” Obshansky said.
The protests are getting out of control
Let us remind you that Polish farmers are angry at the climate policy of the European Union and the import of food from Ukraine, which, in their opinion, threatens their income. In recent weeks, similar protests have been taking place in 27 EU countries, but it is in Poland that farmers are staging the most aggressive rallies.
The police said that the country’s protests were getting out of control and that their officers were “not a party to the current dispute” and warned that the behavior threatening the security of the protesters “cannot be ignored and requires a firm and decisive response.”
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Michal Kolodziejczak, stood up for the protesters and said that he did not believe that “real normal farmers caused trouble in front of the Sejm today” and shifted the responsibility for it to “provocateurs and troublemakers.”
At the same time, he did not say who, in his opinion, was behind the violence.
“Moderate” reaction from Warsaw
The protests have already forced politicians to weaken some provisions. But protesters want to close the Polish-Ukrainian border to stop the import of Ukrainian food, which farmers say lowers market prices and threatens Poland’s agricultural sector.
The protests are also increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Council who is a pro-European politician and has actively sought support for Ukraine.
Tusk tried to satisfy the farmers’ demands, calling their frustration justified. He said he plans to propose changes to the Green Deal and has invited farmer leaders to Saturday’s talks.
He is also concerned that anti-Ukrainian slogans will be heard during the protests in Poland. So, according to Tusk, Russia is trying to use the chaos in Poland to create differences between Warsaw and Kiev.
Ukraine is ready to make concessions
Kyiv, to ease a bitter dispute with Poland, also agreed to limit trade with the European Union. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Taras Kachka in an interview with the Financial Times.
We are talking about limiting imports of eggs, poultry, sugar from June and allowing individual countries to close the markets for Ukrainian grain. At the same time, Ukraine called on the bloc to ban the import of Russian agricultural crops.
“Perhaps for the period of transition, such a … managed approach to trade flows between Ukraine and the EU is what we all need. As for wheat, it is not Ukraine that creates the problem for Polish farmers, but Russia, “said Kaczka.
In addition, according to him, to reduce tension, Kyiv agreed to redirect corn exports to Italy and Spain through the Black Sea, and not by cars through neighboring that country.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.