Nationwide farmers’ protests in Poland and the Czech Republic China launches an important satellite for lunar missions into space

There are renewed nationwide protests by farmers in Poland and the Czech Republic. The farmers’ union Solidarnosc called for a day of action in Poland on Wednesday. There were traffic jams and traffic disruptions in many places as farmers blocked roads and roundabouts with their tractors, the PAP office said.

According to the Polish police, actions were announced at 580 locations with a total of up to 70,000 participants. The protests are aimed, among other things, against the EU’s so-called Green Deal for climate and environmental protection and against the cheap import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament agreed on Wednesday evening to reimpose tariffs on large quantities of certain agricultural products from Ukraine to support European farmers. Parliament and EU countries still have to formally approve the project.

Farmers in the Czech Republic also continued their months-long protests. According to organizers, there should be about 1,500 tractors and other agricultural vehicles on the roads.

Christian Democratic Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny called on participants to block border crossings with neighboring countries only symbolically. The farmers’ associations’ specific demands include a reversal of the recent property tax increase and increased support for employment in rural areas. (saw/sda/dpa)