The 2024 Polish farmer protests were a series of protests and road blockades which occurred in early 2024 when Rural Solidarity, the largest farmers' union in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, called a strike to protest against the

European Green Deal The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate meri ...

and continued grain imports from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Background

On 31 January 2024, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

renewed the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian grain exports to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

until 2025 while reinforcing protection for sensitive EU agricultural products. This, as well as the restrictions that the

would impose upon Polish farmers, led to Polish farmers, truckers, beekeepers, and

foresters A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including Restoration ecology, ecological restoration and management of Pr ...

blocking 260 major roads across the country with their tractors. Nearly all the farmers' unions in the country backed the protests, as the "solidarity corridors" established by the EU to facilitate food exports from Ukraine amid the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

led to much of the Ukrainian produce being stuck in the Polish market rather than transiting further. This caused a decline in the demand and prices for local Polish production, as Ukrainian grain, flour, poultry, eggs, sugar, milk, frozen soft fruit, and even apple juice saturated the Polish market. These Ukrainian goods were widely viewed as being of low-quality, as batches of raspberries were supposed to enter the country.

Protest

On 20 February 2024, Polish farmers pried open two Ukrainian freight cars at the

Medyka Medyka () is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the municipality (gmina) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of Przemyśl and east of the r ...

border crossing and spilled grain on the tracks. The Polish farmers also protested greenhouse emissions regulations and enhanced animal welfare laws brought about by the European Green Deal, and their protests received the sympathy of Slovak and Czech farmers, whose organizations urged joint action. On 21 February 2024, Poland's foreign ministry denounced pro-Putin and

anti-Ukrainian Anti-Ukrainian sentiment (), Ukrainophobia () or anti-Ukrainianism () is animosity towards Ukrainians, Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian language, Ukraine as a nation, or all of the above.Andriy Okara. Ukrainophobia is a gnostic problem.n18texts O ...

slogans at farmers' protests, saying that they were possibly influenced by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. This came as Estonian president

Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the ...

revealed that her government had thwarted a Russian hybrid operation meant to foment civil unrest in the country. Some farmers' banners read "Putin, get Ukraine, Brussels and our government in order." The Polish foreign ministry expressed its belief that the banners were an attempt to take over the agricultural protest movement by "extreme and irresponsible groups, possibly under the influence of Russian agents". On 6 March 2024, protesters clashed with police outside the lower house of Polish parliament in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The

has conceded to some farmers' demands, agreeing to implement cap on

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

–free Ukrainian grain imports. Responding to protests by Polish farmers, Polish Prime Minister

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...

said he would push for changes to the

. On 6 November 2024, Polish farmers started to protest in Medyka, near the Ukrainian border to protest against the 2024 agricultural tax rate and the free trade deal that the European Union was signing with South America. Only one truck every hour was allowed to pass from Poland to Ukraine, whereas only humanitarian vehicles or military convoys were permitted to travel to Ukraine.

References

{{Reflist Polish farmers 2024 protests Protests in Poland Farmers' protests 2024 2024 controversies Grain and the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2024 in international relations Poland–Russia relations Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland Political controversies in Poland 2024 in Poland 2024 in Ukraine History of agriculture in Ukraine 21st-century military history of Poland

Background

Protest

See also

References