Hundreds of Czech farmers drove their tractors into central Prague on Monday, blocking traffic in front of the agriculture ministry building as they joined protests against high energy costs, bureaucratic strangulation and the European Union’s Green Deal.
Farmers across Europe, such as in Poland, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, took to the streets of their cities this year to fight against low prices and high costs, cheap imports and restrictions on EU climate change efforts.
Czech farmers plan to join protests this week, although major agricultural associations distanced themselves from Monday’s action, in which farmers used tractors to block one lane of a main road through Prague, slowing but not completely stopping traffic.
The government announced that the organizers have little to do with real agriculture.
“Today’s demonstrations have little in common with the fight for better conditions for farmers,” said Prime Minister Petr Fiala on the social network X, adding that some of the organizers were pro-Russian or had other political goals.
“We negotiate with those who represent farmers and discuss the needs of our agriculture,” writes Fiala.
The Agrarian Chamber (AK) called its own protests to join other European farmers at border crossings on Thursday, and distanced itself from farmers’ protests on Monday.
Her main complaint is the EU’s agricultural policy, market distortions and low purchase prices resulting from surpluses amid cheap imports from outside the bloc.
Farmers are also complaining about the rising costs associated with the EU’s fight against climate change outlined in the Green Deal, which has set agricultural regulations for the bloc’s 27 members for decades.
“Farmers are desperate in this hopeless situation, and they don’t know what they should expect in the near future, let alone in the future. They need stability in the business environment,” said last week the president of AK Jan Doležal, reports Reuters.
