Polish steelworkers protest against EU climate policies

Steelworkers have held a large protest in Warsaw against European Union climate policies, which they say threaten the existence of their industry. They also accused the Polish government of failing to stand up for their interests.

“Green Deal, Green Deal, fuck the Green Deal,” chanted demonstrators who had gathered outside parliament on Wednesday afternoon, referring to the name of the EU's flagship climate policy, which aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent.

The unionists' demands have been known for months, and today they were recalled during a protest in front of the Sejm: @Energetyka_24 pic.twitter.com/bc4jq8S05M

— Karol Byzdra (@ByzdraKarol) May 21, 2025

“The steel industry is particularly vulnerable because it is energy intensive,” said Piotr Duda, the head of Solidarity, Poland's largest trade union, which was the main organizer of the protest

“I recall the 1990s and 154,000 people being employed in the steel industry; today we have [only] 21,000,” said Duda, himself a former steel worker. “You can see from the mood of employees, not only in the steel industry, but in our entire economy, that the situation is dramatic.”

Andrzej Karol, the head of Solidarity's steelworkers' branch, said that power costs for energy-intensive industries have increased 80% in Poland over the last five years. Since 2023, 1,200 steelworkers have been fired in mass layoffs, he added.

The demonstrators' demands include a price cap of €60 per megawatt-hour for electricity in energy-intensive industries and a halt to mass layoffs, as well as “deep revision” of the Green Deal, in particular the EU's emission trading system, which is intended to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

They also want “protection of the European market against the flood of steel products from non-EU countries that do not have to comply with EU regulations and climate fees.”

“Everything bad that is happening in Polish steel mills is caused by the Green Deal,” said Dominik Kolorz, the leader of Solidarity in the Silesian-Dąbrowa region. “The duty of [Prime Minister] Donald Tusk's government is to fulfill the demands that we are making here.”

Earlier this month, the government's industry ministry announced that it was preparing an “action plan for the sustainable development of the steel industry”. It also said that, at the EU level, it is seeking new rules on providing state aid for industry, including relief for energy-intensive sectors such as steel.

At today's demonstration, Duda pointed out that steelworkers are just the latest in a long line of industries, including farmers , energy workers , and miners , to protest in Poland against the Green Deal and other climate policies.

His trade union has been collecting signatures in support of a movement to call a national referendum on the Green Deal. “Solidarity was right when it said that climate policy would threaten the Polish and European economy and every citizen of the EU,” Duda said. “Unfortunately, this is what is happening.”

He also accused the prime minister, Donald Tusk, of doing “nothing” to address the situation. While in opposition, Tusk called for tougher action to tackle climate change. However, last year, he farmers told protesting against EU climate policies that he would lobby Brussels to suspend or withdraw parts of the Green Deal.

Tusk's government has also taken little action to fulfill its promises to accelerate Poland's transition away from coal, which generates most of the country's electricity.

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl