Spanish farmers call protests for next week

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s three main farmers’ unions announced on Tuesday that they will begin nationwide protests next week.

According to a joint statement, the “difficult conditions and suffocating EU bureaucracy” are creating deep frustration among Spanish farmers.

They complain that they have to compete with agricultural products from non-EU countries that do not have to comply with EU regulations but force local producers to drive down prices.

“It is an unfair competition that threatens the viability of thousands of farms in Spain and Europe,” said the joint statement signed by ASAJA, COAG and UPA unions.

Spanish farmers are not alone. Other unions across the EU have been engaged in disruptive protests in recent days and weeks.

In France, protesting farmers have caused major disruptions. On Tuesday, they had encircled Paris with their tractors.

Farmers in Belgium, Germany and Romania have also held protests this month, with a mix of local grievances and those directed at the EU.

In demonstrations in France and Belgium, farmers have also reportedly dumped or attacked trucks carrying Spanish produce.

On Monday, Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Planas emphasized that agricultural regulation is similar across EU countries, and therefore, Spain has “no competitive advantage derived from applying norms differently.”

Spanish farmers are also facing unique problems, such as an ongoing drought and the current “abnormally low” lemon prices, which are triggering farmers to leave the fruit rot on the ground instead of investing in the harvest.

The Spanish unions are also urging the government to stop negotiations on new free trade deals with South America, Chile, Kenya, Mexico, India and Australia. They also demand that the government boost controls on the Moroccan border to ensure they comply with EU norms.