"The major professional agricultural unions, the ASAJA, the COAG [Coordinator of Farmers and Livestock Breeders] and the UPA [Union of Small Farmers and Cattle Ranchers], agreed this morning to resume scheduled manifestations to demand an ambitious emergency plan that includes measures at both the EU level and the level of the government of Spain and the autonomous communities. At first, the protests will be taking place at a regional level over the next several weeks," the statement read.
The agricultural industry in Spain, as well as the entire Europe, is "mired in growing frustration and unrest" due to the difficult economic conditions and the "suffocating bureaucracy" generated by regulations of the European Union, the ASAJA said. Farmers struggle in the face of a deregulated market that imports agricultural products from third countries at low prices that adversely impact the sales of food products produced in the EU and Spain, the association added.
"Nevertheless, the EU continues to draw up new free trade deals with third countries that exacerbate the problems of farmers and livestock breeders across the EU. In light of this, the ASAJA, the COAG and the UPA will demand that negotiations on treaties similar to that with Mercosur [the Southern Common Market] be stalled, the agreement with New Zealand be not ratified, and negotiations with Chile, Kenya, Mexico, India and Australia be suspended," the statement further read.
In addition, the farmers want Madrid and the European Commission to tighten controls on the border with Morocco to guarantee that imported Moroccan agricultural products comply with the EU regulations and the tariff norms set by the free trade agreement with this country.
Farmers' protests have already caused disruptions in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to stop the current round of trade deal negotiations with South American bloc Mercosur amid the protests, media reported.
However, earlier on Tuesday, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the commission had not suspended the negotiations with Mercosur and will continue to work for an agreement that would comply with the EU sustainability goals and take into account the bloc's concerns in agriculture.
The EU and Mercosur launched negotiations on a trade agreement back in 2000, but the talks soon stalled due to a number of factors, including demands by Latin American nations that EU countries pay compensation for years of colonial rule, as well as opposition from European agricultural producers, who are concerned about the possibility of price reductions if Brazilian beef enters the market. However, the two blocs still managed to reach a political agreement for a comprehensive trade agreement in principle in June 2019.