Wave of farmers' protests in Europe spreads to Spain

“With different nuances, across the European Union we have the same problems,” Donaciano Dujo, vice president of ASAJA, one of Spain’s largest farmers’ unions, told national broadcaster TVE.

European farmers' protests spread to Spain picture 1 — Farmers driving tractors protest in Girona, Spain on February 6, 2024. Photo: Reuters

The transport authority said ASAJA and other unions had called for the protest from Thursday, but many farmers took to the roads in tractors on Tuesday, blocking traffic across the country from Seville and Granada in southern Spain to Girona near the French border.

In Girona, tractors could be seen gathering ahead of the protest, carrying banners reading "no farmers, no food".

Like their counterparts in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, Spanish farmers are complaining about the growing burden of European bureaucracy, low product prices and rising costs.

They argue that strict regulations imposed on EU farmers to protect the environment make them less competitive than farmers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU European countries.

In recent days, farmers' blockades in France and Belgium have sometimes escalated into violent clashes with police.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, CNA)

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