Polish farmers, angrier than before, stage large protest against Ukrainian imports and EU policies

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Protesting Polish farmers on tractors have blocked highways leading into Warsaw while thousands of their supporters gathered in front of the prime minister’s office. Some trampled a European Union flag and burned a mock coffin bearing the word “farmer.” The protesters want a withdrawal from the EU’s Green Deal, a plan meant to fight climate change with measures that farmers denounce as excessively costly. They also want the Polish-Ukrainian border closed to stop the imports of Ukrainian food products. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU. This one seemed to be angrier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation.