Farmers to protest in Prague on Wednesday

Czech farmers are planning to stage another demonstration in Prague in protest at conditions set by the European Union for farmers from candidate countries. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the head of the Czech Agricultural Chamber, Vaclav Hlavacek, said that between 5,000 to 10,000 farmers are expected to flock to the Czech capital to gather in front of the Agriculture Ministry and head for the seat of the European Commission's delegation. According to Mr Hlavacek, talks on the "agriculture" chapter with the EU are unsatisfactory as farmers need a full volume of direct payments in order to be able to compete on the EU market. EU officials, on the other hand, stress that farmers of the candidate countries, including the Czech Republic, would not be worse off after EU membership than they were before.