Spanish farmers are preparing for demonstrations

(Photo: Pixabay)

According to the joint announcement of the interest representatives, the first regional-level demonstrations will take place in the “coming weeks”, a specific date has not yet been set. The organizations protested that cheap agricultural products from countries outside the EU depress the prices of EU and Spanish products, while they do not comply with EU norms. “They represent contradiction and hypocrisy in the political action of the EU. (…) Unfair competition that puts the viability of thousands of economies in Spain and Europe at risk,” they said. As written, the agricultural sector in Europe and Spain is sinking into growing frustration and unrest due to difficult conditions and the suffocating bureaucracy generated by EU rules. “Restoring community preferences is vital to restoring and guaranteeing our food sovereignty,” they stressed. With their actions, they demand an ambitious action plan that includes measures at the European, national and provincial level to deal with the problems arising from the drought, the war in Ukraine, the common agricultural policy and labor issues.

In their statement, the organizations COAG, UPA and ASAJA objected to the conclusion of new EU free trade agreements

As they wrote, they will advocate, among other things, the cessation of negotiations on the Mercosur agreement, as well as the refusal to ratify the agreement with New Zealand. In addition, the government of Spain, under the supervision of the European Commission, must increase control at the Moroccan border so that imported Moroccan agricultural products comply with the EU’s internal regulations, they pointed out. Their demands include making the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) “more flexible and simpler”, as they believe that excessive bureaucracy causes unacceptable costs for professional farmers and does not allow environmental protection objectives to be met.

MTI