Protests against Mercosur agreement held in several locations in Poland

(Photo: Pixabay)

From the morning until late afternoon, farmers marched on public roads, rest areas and junctions along motorways and expressways in more than a hundred locations across the country. They used tractors and other agricultural machinery to slow down traffic in most places, and in some places even stopped it for several hours.

In some cities, protests were also held in front of the headquarters of the voivodeship offices

The protesters demanded that the Polish parliament oblige the government to unequivocally reject the Mercosur agreement. They saw that the mechanisms included in the agreement did not sufficiently protect European producers. Opposition politicians joined the protesters in several places, while others expressed their support on social media. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the main opposition party, Law and Justice, wrote on X that Donald Tusk’s government was “deceiving Polish society by doing nothing to prevent the agreement.” Krzysztof Bosak, a politician from the opposition Confederation and deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, warned on X that the implementation of the agreement “threatens Poland and the entire EU with a flood of low-quality South American food.” “This is not only another blow to our economy and food security, but also to our health and the health of our families,” Bosak said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on December 19 that EU leaders agreed at a European Council meeting to conclude the Mercosur agreement in early 2026, the signing of which had been postponed from December to January “in order to resolve some issues.” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a press conference in Brussels that day following the EU summit that Poland still rejects the agreement, adding that the postponement of its signature would allow the European Commission to incorporate new safeguards into the document.

MTI