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Portuguese Farmers Block Highways Near Spanish Border - Reports

MADRID (Sputnik) - Portuguese farmers have blocked several highways near the border with Spain to vent their grievances over the situation in the agricultural sector, Spanish media reported on Thursday.
Sputnik
The farmers have rolled out some 400 tractors to the two-lane highway leading to the Spanish province of Salamanca, the EFE news agency reported. The A6 motorway which runs to the Portuguese-Spanish border has also been partially blocked.
Analysis
‘We Shot Ourselves in the Head’: Mass European Farmer Protests Blowback for Ukraine Support
Apart from Portugal, farmers' protests have already caused disruptions in France, Germany, Italy, 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 trade bloc Mercosur amid the protests, media reported.
However, on Tuesday, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the commission had not suspended the negotiations with Mercosur and would continue to work for an agreement that would comply with the EU's sustainability goals and take into account the bloc's concerns in agriculture.
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