Spain: received at the ministry, farmers maintain their mobilization

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: CESAR MANSO / AFP 4:36 p.m., February 2, 2024

The three main Spanish agricultural unions announced on Friday that they were continuing their mobilization following a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, who pledged to "work" to respond to the crisis in the sector. The Spanish farmers' movement will end "as soon as we have concrete measures" on agricultural policy, "at the service" of farmers, the vice-president of the Union of Small Farmers (UPA) underlined during a press briefing. , Montserrat Cortiñas. 

“The campaign must be heard”

A message relayed by the two other majority unions, Coag and Asaja. “The campaign must be heard”, justified José Manuel Cebollada, vice-president of Asaja, estimating that the current agricultural policy protected more “the environment” than “farmers’ rights”. This meeting was urgently convened by Minister Luis Planas, eager to ease the pressure in the Spanish sector, who announced on Tuesday that he was joining the European movement of anger with a series of demonstrations "in the coming weeks".

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Speaking after the meeting, the socialist leader said he understood the farmers' anger and pledged to defend greater administrative "simplification" in the face of the "accumulation of standards" set by the common agricultural policy. (CAP). It is a question of "identifying which bureaucratic procedures can be reduced", he stressed, scratching Brussels' attitude towards agricultural anger. “If we are here, it is because the (European) Commission has not been able until now to dialogue with the sector,” he judged.

Spanish unions denounce "growing frustration and unease" due to "the stifling bureaucracy generated by European regulations", and the "unfair competition" from products coming from outside the EU, which are not subject to to the same constraints. Since Tuesday's announcement, several rallies have taken place, notably in Leon, Zamora and Avila, in the north and center of the country. Other demonstrations are planned for February 13 in Barcelona, ​​February 14 in Andalusia and Castile-la-Mancha, and February 21 in Madrid.

Spain, often referred to as the "vegetable garden of Europe", is the leading European exporter of fruits and vegetables. The Spanish agricultural sector is nevertheless in difficulty, mainly due to the drought which has been affecting the country for three years.