Czech Farmers Protest EU Policies with 3,000 Tractors

Hundreds of Czech farmers have staged protests against rising energy prices and the economic and agricultural policies of the European Union. 

According to La Vanguardia, around three thousand tractors and other agricultural machinery headed towards border crossings with Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, while other Czech farmers demonstrated in major city centers, including the capital, Prague, and the city of Brno.

The president of the Czech Agricultural Chamber, Jan Dolezal, described the situation of the farmers as "desperate." 

The protests are part of a broader movement across several European countries against the EU's economic and agricultural policies, the soaring prices of fuel and agricultural supplies, and unfair competition from abroad, particularly from Ukrainian agricultural products after the European Commission decided to suspend import duties to support Kyiv.

In Spain, farmers also held new protests, taking control of the streets in central Madrid to voice their grievances against the agricultural policies of the government and the EU.

Their demands include the implementation of a law ensuring that wholesale buyers pay fair prices for products.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that hundreds of Spanish farmers gathered outside the Ministry of Agriculture under the slogan "Without agriculture and livestock... your table is empty." 

The three main agricultural organizations, ASAJA, COAG, and UPA, prepared a calendar for mobilization reaching the capital this week, while various independent platforms have organized different actions in recent weeks without obtaining the relevant permits.