Farmers Protest against Mercosur Agreement at Czech-Slovak Border Crossing
Czech and Slovak farmers and food producers, driving dozens of pieces of heavy agricultural machinery, met at the Hodonin-Holic border crossing on Thursday to block the road and express their opposition to the Mercosur agreement and to food imports from third countries.
Holic/Hodonin, February 27 (TASR) - Czech and Slovak farmers and food producers, driving dozens of pieces of heavy agricultural machinery, met at the Hodonin-Holic border crossing on Thursday to block the road and express their opposition to the Mercosur agreement and to food imports from third countries.
According to Slovak Farm and Food Chamber head Andrej Gajdos, the border crossing was closed between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Thursday. The police were monitoring the protest, diverting traffic from the town of Holic towards the town of Skalica. "The basic message of this protest was to express dissatisfaction with foreign policy, as well as with trade with third countries, such as Ukraine, and with the upcoming agreements with Mexico and Thailand," Gajdos told TASR.
Czech Agricultural Chamber president Jan Dolezal noted that third countries commonly use substances that are banned in Europe. "We have bans on the use of certain plant protection products here, we don't use antibiotics to such an extent, we don't use hormones, while these things are commonly used there, and we perceive this as a threat to food safety in our countries and as a potential threat to our consumers," Dolezal told TASR.
The farmers expect politicians to consider their arguments and demand the exclusion of the farm and food sector from agreements with third countries.
The Slovak and Czech farmers were later joined by their peers from Hungary and Austria. Protests are also taking place in Poland, Romania and France. "The Germans are protesting at the border crossings with the Czech Republic," said Dolezal.
