Poland sees its most violent protest yet by farmers and supporters against Ukraine imports, EU rules

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Polish police used tear gas and arrested more than a dozen protesters during a farmers’ demonstration on Wednesday in Warsaw. The protesting farmers threw flares and stones at the police which led to clashes. The developments marked an escalation in the protests of farmers who have been angered by European Union policies and food imports from Ukraine that they say threaten their livelihoods.

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Polish farmers, hunters, and their supporters, hold a protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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A police officer stops a protester by a burning coffin during a protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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Demonstrators symbolically burn a coffin with the word “farmer” written on it during a protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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Police officers extinguish a fire during a protest by farmers in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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Protesters clash with police in front of the Polish Parliament during farmers protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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Polish farmers block a major road with tractors during a protest in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Polish farmers, angry at the European Union’s Green Deal that trims agricultural production and at the unrestricted imports of Ukraine foods, block a major road near Warsaw with tractors at the start of a massive protest, in Lomianki near Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Farmers who were blocking roads leading to Warsaw as part of an angry protest against European Union’s Green Deal policy and against Ukraine food imports are ending the blockade and going home, in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, March , 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Police officers take protective measures during farmers protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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Police officers detain a man during farmers protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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A woman holds a polish flag during farmers protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

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A man with a polish flag stands in front of the police officers during farmers protest in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday March 6, 2024. The protest ratchets up pressure on the government as they demand the Poland-Ukraine border closed to food imports and demand changes to European Union climate and agricultural policies. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

By VANESSA GERA

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland saw its most violent protest by farmers and supporters yet Wednesday as some participants threw stones at police and tried to push through barriers around parliament, injuring several officers, police said.

Police used tear gas and said they detained over a dozen people and prevented the protesters from getting through to the Sejm, the Polish parliament.

Farmers are angry over European Union climate policies and food imports from Ukraine that they say threaten their livelihoods. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU in recent weeks, but this one was decidedly angrier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation.

Police noted on the social media platform X that its officers “are not a party to the ongoing dispute” and warned that behavior threatening their safety “cannot be taken lightly and requires a firm and decisive response.”

The deputy agriculture minister, Michał Kołodziejczak, said he didn’t believe that “real, normal farmers caused a riot in front of the Sejm today,” and that it was necessary to isolate “provocateurs and troublemakers.”

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He did not say who he thought was behind the violence.

Farmers on tractors blocked highways leading into Warsaw while thousands of their supporters gathered in front of the prime minister’s office before marching to the parliament. Some trampled a European Union flag and burned a mock coffin bearing the word “farmer.”

Farmers were joined by miners, foresters, hunters and other supporters. They blew horns and set off firecrackers and smoke bombs, despite police warnings that the use of pyrotechnics was banned. Some protesters burned tires.

The protesters are demanding a withdrawal from the EU’s Green Deal, a plan meant to fight climate change and protect biodiversity, including with plans requiring farmers to reduce the excessive use of polluting chemicals to boost their crops.

The protests have led politicians to water down some provisions.

The protesters also want the Polish-Ukrainian border closed to stop the imports of Ukrainian food products, which farmers say drive down market prices and put Poland’s agricultural sector in jeopardy.

The protest increased pressure on the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council who is strongly pro-EU and seeks to support Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.

Tusk has sought to meet the farmers’ demands, calling their frustrations justified. He has said he plans to propose amendments to the Green Deal.

Anti-Ukrainian slogans have featured at the protests in Poland, where authorities have said they are concerned that Russia is trying to leverage legitimate concerns to create divisions between Warsaw and Kyiv.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing make up less than 3% of Poland’s GDP, according to the World Bank.