Spanish farmers protest against EU rules

Thousands of farmers demonstrated in the Spanish capital Madrid on foot and by tractor on Sunday in response to European Union regulations they view as excessive.

EU concessions proposed on Friday aim to ease the environmental regulations of the Common Agricultural Policy, to appease farmers across Europe who are fighting for better remuneration for their produce, pushing for less regulation around green measures, and for protection against cheap imports.

Farmers' trade unions in Spain say the planned changes are not enough and EU policies on the environment and other matters remain a financial burden and make their products more expensive than non-EU imports.

In their latest demonstration, the fourth in Madrid since the start of the wider European agricultural sector's protest movement in mid-January, farmers in Spain marched from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to the Ministry of Agriculture in the capital.

Agence France-Presse reported the farmers carried placards proclaiming "We are not delinquents".

"It is as if they want to cut off our necks," the news agency quoted Madrid farmer Marcos Baldominos as saying, in reference to a mock guillotine decorating his tractor. "We are being suffocated by European rules," he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday said the EU concessions aimed to lighten some of the environmental rules.

Facing criticism

Spain's left-wing government welcomed the move, though the measures faced criticism from unions.

"We are faced with a pile of bureaucratic rules that make us feel more like we are at an office than on a farm," said the Union de Uniones, which organized Sunday's march.

It added that "many small and medium-sized farms" cannot "cope with" the policies.

Luis Cortes of the Union de Uniones was quoted by the Deutsche Welle news service as saying that without better solutions for the agricultural sector, the "pressure" and tension on the Spanish government would only escalate.

Regulations must be aimed at assisting farmers to improve crop quality and not only on lessening environmental responsibilities, he said. "What they should do is a proper environmental regulation and not mix it with agriculture," he added.

Before Sunday, Spanish farmers had most recently expressed frustration with EU bureaucracy on Feb 21, when they demonstrated with nearly 500 tractors in five convoys in Madrid, demanding fairer prices, reduced bureaucracy concerning environmental regulations and increased state aid.

Europe's heavily subsidized agricultural sector has become a major focus ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections in June, according to The Associated Press.

By capitalizing on rural communities' frustrations with free trade agreements and cost-of-living expenses, populist and far-right parties are strategically aiming to gain support, it said.