https://sputnikglobe.com/20240228/we-have-become-our-own-enemy-polish-farmers-remarkable-protest-against-europes-self-destruction-1117028033.html
‘We Have Become Our Own Enemy’: Polish Farmers’ Remarkable Protest Against Europe’s Self-Destruction
‘We Have Become Our Own Enemy’: Polish Farmers’ Remarkable Protest Against Europe’s Self-Destruction
Sputnik International
Out of touch European leaders are destroying citizens’ quality of life as well as their own political legitimacy, claims one expert.
2024-02-28T03:13+0000
2024-02-28T03:13+0000
2024-02-28T03:13+0000
european union (eu)
fault lines
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russia
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analysis
ukraine crisis
ukrainian crisis
europe's farmer protests
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The European system has been under considerable strain for some time. Brexit was perhaps the most notable demonstration of the people’s discontent with the direction the continent is headed. But many others have followed.A remarkable act of protest took place over the weekend when demonstrators spilled 160 tons of Ukrainian grain from rail cars at a station in Poland. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov immediately denounced the act and called for arrests, demonstrating the degree to which the country’s puppet government feels entitled to dictate European Union policy. But the protest will not be the last as leaders across the continent run roughshod over the needs and wellbeing of European citizens.“And we can say primarily what's happening in Europe today is the boomerang effect of our leaders’ policy towards Ukraine and everything that comes with it.”Magnier recounted the ways Europe’s slavish devotion to the Kiev regime is harming European farmers, not only in terms of the resources EU countries are redirecting to Ukraine, but also in the larger economic ramifications of the conflict. Attempts to salvage the Ukrainian economy by allowing the import of untaxed agriculture from the country have created an environment where European farmers cannot compete, he noted.Inflation is making European goods even less competitive, while EU climate diktats continue to reduce profitability.EU crop rotation and fertilizer reduction directives are the last straw of many, says Magnier. “We don't have enough money to survive, particularly when the subsidies have been reduced,” said the former war correspondent, summarizing the dilemma of European farmers. “They find themselves completely with [their] backs [against the] wall, and this is why, last month, there were 1,300 tractors in the streets of Brussels.”Compounding the broader crisis is a lack of political legitimacy across the continent. The EU has long been criticized for its “democratic deficit” as the bloc’s policy is written by elite European Commission appointees disconnected from the struggles of average people. But French President Emmanuel Macron is viewed as particularly illegitimate, even as he makes highly provocative comments about sending European troops to Ukraine.Frequently, Western political establishments have been able to engineer elections where unpopular liberals like Macron benefit from fear of far-right opponents, as recently happened in the 2020 US presidential election. Eventually, such establishment figures suffer as the reality of their political agenda is made clear. Macron has been met with massive protests throughout his time in office as he attempts to eliminate hardwon labor rights and reduce French citizens’ quality of life.“What they're doing is impoverishing Europe,” he added.Magnier concluded that European leaders’ decision to demonize Russia was wreaking havoc across the continent, sacrificing its economy as well as the legitimacy of its political system in the name of antagonizing Moscow.“This is only the beginning,” he said of the act of defiance in Poland, predicting that protests would rock Europe for months or years to come.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240226/take-a-look-at-how-polish-farmers-block-ukrainian-border-1116992453.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240226/polish-farmers-shut-down-warsaw-berlin-highway-in-warning-to-brussels-1116993577.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230817/russia-grows-richer-while-west-bleeds-trillions-amid-failed-sanctions--funding-ukraine-1112666650.html
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french farmers protests, farmers' protests, farmers' unions, tractors, haystacks and piles of manure, farmers protests, farmers demonstrations, farmers in europe
‘We Have Become Our Own Enemy’: Polish Farmers’ Remarkable Protest Against Europe’s Self-Destruction
Out of touch European leaders are destroying citizens’ quality of life as well as their own political legitimacy, claims one expert.
The European system has been under considerable strain for some time. Brexit was perhaps the most notable demonstration of the people’s discontent with the direction the continent is headed. But many others have followed.
A remarkable act of protest took place over the weekend when demonstrators spilled 160 tons of Ukrainian grain from rail cars at a station in Poland. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov immediately denounced the act and called for arrests, demonstrating the degree to which the country’s puppet government feels entitled to dictate European Union policy. But the protest will not be the last as leaders across the continent run roughshod over the needs and wellbeing of European citizens.
“What has been going on is happening everywhere in Europe and it's spreading,” noted journalist Elijah Magnier on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program on Tuesday. “It is [the] beginning of the tip of the iceberg and all that is due to the wrong European policy that is incompatible with the necessity and the interests of the European people.”
“And we can say primarily what's happening in Europe today is the boomerang effect of our leaders’ policy towards Ukraine and everything that comes with it.”
Magnier recounted the ways Europe’s slavish devotion to the Kiev regime is harming European farmers, not only in terms of the resources EU countries are redirecting to Ukraine, but also in the larger economic ramifications of the conflict. Attempts to salvage the Ukrainian economy by allowing the import of untaxed agriculture from the country have created an environment where European farmers cannot compete, he noted.
Inflation is making European goods even less competitive, while EU climate diktats continue to reduce profitability.
EU crop rotation and fertilizer reduction directives are the last straw of many, says Magnier. “We don't have enough money to survive, particularly when the subsidies have been reduced,” said the former war correspondent, summarizing the dilemma of European farmers. “They find themselves completely with [their] backs [against the] wall, and this is why, last month, there were 1,300 tractors in the streets of Brussels.”
“This discontent among the European farmers is not going to be limited to European farmers, it's going to expand because other people are joining them and they're not farmers,” Magnier predicted.
Compounding the broader crisis is a lack of political legitimacy across the continent. The EU has long been criticized for its “democratic deficit” as the bloc’s policy is written by elite European Commission appointees disconnected from the struggles of average people. But French President Emmanuel Macron is viewed as particularly illegitimate, even as he makes highly provocative comments about sending European troops to Ukraine.
“We are going to see more and more [protest],” said Magnier, “particularly with a person like Emmanuel Macron, who is so unpopular in France and who came to power with only 24% of the vote because people didn't want to vote for the right-wing extremist Marine Le Pen.”
Frequently, Western political establishments have been able to engineer elections where unpopular liberals like Macron benefit from fear of far-right opponents, as recently happened in the 2020 US presidential election. Eventually, such establishment figures suffer as the reality of their political agenda is made clear. Macron has been met with massive protests throughout his time in office as he attempts to eliminate hardwon labor rights and reduce French citizens’ quality of life.
“In England, the health system is collapsing – energy [costs are growing to] at least five to six times more and increasing by 14% since the beginning of the year,” Magnier added. “So we are in total chaos and heading toward a catastrophe, and all of that is because of the decision of our leaders [about] what to do in Ukraine, how to fight Russia – but we are fighting our own economy.”
“What they're doing is impoverishing Europe,” he added.
Magnier concluded that European leaders’ decision to demonize Russia was wreaking havoc across the continent, sacrificing its economy as well as the legitimacy of its political system in the name of antagonizing Moscow.
“The governments went 180 degrees and Russia became our enemy. But it is not true because we have become our own enemy,” he claimed.
“This is only the beginning,” he said of the act of defiance in Poland, predicting that protests would rock Europe for months or years to come.
17 August 2023, 11:09 GMT
