In western Poland, around 1,400 tractors took part in protests in Poznan, and roads were blocked across the country.
Tractors attempting to enter cities such as Toledo and Zaragoza blocked traffic in several regions of Spain for the fourth day in a row. The protests have energized farmers across the continent. But your complaint is very different.
Farmers in Poland and Hungary complain that the European Union is not doing enough to stop cheap imports from Ukraine that undermine local products. They are calling on the EU to reintroduce the obligation for all 27 member states to obtain work permits for Ukrainian truck drivers.
In Poland, convoys of tractors lined roads in 256 locations, many flying Polish flags, blocking traffic and forcing police to organize detours. One of the blockades brought traffic to a standstill at the Medica border crossing west of the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Demonstrators in Poznań lit smoke bombs and fireworks, and drums of garbage were dumped on the street. According to organizers, about 6,000 farmers gathered in the city.
Many farmers held banners saying no to the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the city of Bydgoszcz, the atmosphere became even more heated, with tyres, piles of straw and an EU flag set on fire. A group of protesters tried to force their way into a local authority building, but police used pepper spray to stop them.
New Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekielski met with protesting farmers in Przyborowice, northwest of Warsaw, and said: My duty as Minister of Agriculture is to be here today to talk to farmers.