Farmers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia blocked the border crossing near the Slovak town of Goric with tractors on Friday.
The protesters oppose cheaper imports of agricultural goods from non-EU markets. In particular, they are demanding the cancellation of the Mercosur deal, an agreement aimed at creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones that would cover more than 700 million people and almost 25% of the world’s GDP.
The main aim of Mercosur is to lower tariffs and trade barriers to make it easier for companies on both sides to export goods. But demonstrators believe its terms not only create unfair competition to European agriculture, but also pose risks to consumers. They say third countries make extensive use of hormones and antibiotics, which are banned in Europe, in their production.
“The main message of this protest is to express dissatisfaction with foreign policy and trade with third countries such as Ukraine or the prepared agreements with Mexico and Thailand,” Andrej Gajdoš, president of the Slovak Agrarian and Food Chamber, said.
According to Jan Doležal, president of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, components banned in Europe are widely used in production in third countries.
“We don’t use antibiotics to that extent, we don’t use hormones, these things are used there very often and we perceive this as a threat to the food security of our countries and a potential threat to consumers,” Doležal said.
According to the organisers, similar protests are also taking place in Poland, Romania and France.
