PRAGUE (Reuters) – Hundreds of Czech farmers drove their tractors into central Prague on Monday, disrupting traffic in front of the Agriculture Ministry and joining protests against high energy costs, administrative constraints and the European Union’s “green deal”.
“We came today mainly because of the bureaucracy surrounding agriculture. The paperwork is almost unbearable,” said Lukas Melichovsky, a 28-year-old farmer, while standing in the queue. waiting for tractors.
Czech farmers plan to join planned protests this week, even as major agricultural associations distanced themselves from Monday’s action, in which tractors blocked a major road main road in Prague, slowing down traffic.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on social network pro-Russian or had other political objectives.
In many European countries, farmers have demonstrated against community standards deemed too restrictive, particularly in terms of the environment, soaring costs and competition deemed unfair from countries outside the EU.
(Reporting Eva Korinkova, Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka; Stéphanie Hamel, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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