The agriculture minister in Spain, where farmers have demonstrated for eight straight days, blocking roads and blockading logistics centers, called the country’s agricultural confederations to a meeting on Thursday.
As the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday, Luis Planas will meet in Madrid with representatives of Spain’s three largest agricultural organizations (Asaha – the Agrarian Association of Young Farmers, UPA – the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers and the coordinator of COAG – farmers and livestock organizations). ).
The Minister had already met on February 2 with three organizations who, after the meeting, decided to support the protests they had announced a few days earlier against European policies and rules for the agricultural sector, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
After the meeting on February 2, Minister Luis Planas assured that the Madrid government will only support changes to the European Union (EU) CAP that are “in line” with the interests of Spanish farmers.
Louis Planas also felt that Brussels, with recent statements about its response to the farmers’ protests, “comes very late” and came up with a proposal “very tailored to the needs” of the country that claimed it, with a hint of France.
The European Commission will prepare a proposal to reduce the administrative burden on farmers, which will be discussed by the 27 member states on February 26.
The Spanish minister acknowledged the “consistent accumulation” of rules and bureaucracy of CAP and other European standards and defended simplification.
According to the minister, a number of issues currently being discussed in France and other countries are being “resolved” in Spain.
However, he acknowledged that “there is still a lot to be done in the agroecological transition” to make agricultural holdings profitable, especially as temperatures rise and rainfall decreases.
The minister vowed to continue to listen to the sector and EU trade agreements with other countries and regions around the world, another target of the farmers’ protests, and vowed to “strictly control” import quotas.
The Spanish government advocates the use of so-called “mirror clauses” for imports from countries outside the EU, meaning that imported products are subject to the same rules and requirements that apply to production within the European area.
This Tuesday marks the eighth day in a row of farmer protests in Spain.
The biggest protests today are taking place in Catalonia, in the northeast of the country, where main access to the largest supply market in Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city, and the port of Tarragona (the largest entry point for imported goods) are being blocked. grains to Spain).
Farmers also cut off several roads, including those leading to France.
Outside Catalonia, farmers cut roads in the Spanish regions of Andalusia, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha.
In Cantabria, northern Spain, there was a concentration of farmers on foot, momentarily cutting off access to the port of Santander.
Spain’s farmer associations have called for about 40 more protests across the country by the end of February, according to a calendar of demonstrations updated on Monday.
European farmers, including in Portugal, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demand an easing of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more support for the sector.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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