WARSAW, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Polish farmers held a protest on Friday, voicing strong opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement, under which the EU will phase out tariffs on some 90 percent of Mercosur goods.
The farmers gathered around 11 a.m. local time in front of the Palace of Culture and Science in central Warsaw and marched to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, carrying Polish national flags and banners.
Slawomir Izdebski, leader of a major Polish farmers' union, said the protest aimed to reject both the EU-Mercosur agreement and the current government's policies on rural development and agriculture.
The EU's trade agreement with the South American Mercosur countries -- Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay -- would grant preferential tariffs on agricultural products such as beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol.
Farmers warned that once the agreement takes effect, it would allow low-cost agricultural products from South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina to enter the EU market, putting Polish farmers at a clear disadvantage and threatening agricultural development and food security.
Farmers across the European Union have been protesting against the agreement for weeks. On Thursday, French farmers drove about 100 tractors into Paris and blocked roads at several symbolic sites, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, to protest agricultural policies and the EU-Mercosur deal.
Polish Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski announced in Brussels on Wednesday that the EU is to return to a more restrictive safeguard clause in the Mercosur agreement. According to him, the mechanism will ultimately be triggered when prices of sensitive products in the EU fall by 5 percent.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki met with farmers' representatives on Friday. At a press briefing following the meeting, presidential spokesperson Rafal Leskiewicz said there was still time to prevent the agreement from taking effect before Jan. 12.
On Friday, EU member states gave provisional backing to the EU-Mercosur free trade deal in a qualified-majority vote, paving the way for the bloc to formally sign it in Paraguay next week. A majority of the EU's 27 member states supported the pact, while France, Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary voted against it, and Belgium abstained.
Negotiations on the agreement began more than 20 years ago and were finalized in 2024.
