Hundreds of farmers protest in Prague against rising costs and

Hundreds of farmers protest in Prague against rising costs and EU regulations

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More than 500 farmers took to the streets this Monday in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, as part of a wave of demonstrations already noticeable to protest against the increase in production costs and environmental regulations imposed by several countries in the community bloc. The demonstrators gathered in front of the headquarters of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, where they drove tractors and agricultural machinery with the aim of blocking the main access roads to the city. Although traffic was blocked on many of the city's streets, there were currently no major traffic jams. The protests are particularly directed against the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality in the Union by 2050. Farmers warn that the measures included in the plan place too high demands on the sector, which is overwhelmed. Farmers, in turn, criticized Prime Minister Petr Fiala's government, saying they needed more subsidies and less bureaucracy from the liberal-conservative executive. They carried banners with slogans such as “Save dying agriculture” and “Stop bureaucratic terrorism.” Agriculture Minister Marek Viborni has suggested in statements to the Czech news agency CTK that he hopes for negotiations instead of “protests that will paralyze Prague” and accused farmers of having a political agenda.