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Spanish farmers to join European protests

Farmers gather next to a tractor displaying a message which reads as “Farmer, as a kid we dream of it, as an adult we die of it” and an upside down roadsign, as tractors block the entrance of the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in Toulouse, southwestern France on January 30, 2024/AFPPixFarmers gather next to a tractor displaying a message which reads as “Farmer, as a kid we dream of it, as an adult we die of it” and an upside down roadsign, as tractors block the entrance of the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in Toulouse, southwestern France on January 30, 2024/AFPPix

MADRID: Spain’s three main agriculture unions said Tuesday they would join a growing European protest movement against conditions for farmers.

“The agricultural sector in Europe and Spain is facing growing frustration and unease due to the difficult conditions and stifling bureaucracy generated by European regulations,“ the Asaja, UPA and COAG unions said in a joint statement.

The unions did not give the dates or other details on their planned protests.

Farm protests have already caused disruption in France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands. The European Union has in response scrambled to address the concerns ahead of European parliament elections this year.

Protests by French farmers have grown to an attempt to block major roads leading into Paris.

Farmers are angry about incomes, soaring electricity and fuel costs, as well as red tape and environmental policies they say undermine their ability to compete with other countries. -AFP