Catalan Farmers Escalate Road Blockades Against EU-Mercosur Trade Deal
Protests enter second day with five major routes closed in Catalonia, targeting the EU agreement approved despite opposition from several member.
Key Points
- Five major routes blocked in Catalonia including N-260, N-230, Coll d'Ares, AP-7, A-2.
- Protests oppose EU-Mercosur deal approved Thursday despite France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Austria opposition.
- Farmers cite unfair competition from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and PAC subsidy cuts.
- Truck traffic down 90%; Agriculture Minister urges EU dialogue for fair trade.
Farmers across Catalonia have intensified road blockades against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, with five major routes still closed as of Friday and plans for continued action over the weekend.
The protests, now in their second day, target the deal approved by EU leaders on Thursday despite opposition from France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, and Austria. Demonstrators warn that regulatory differences with Mercosur countries—Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay—could enable unfair competition, threatening local agriculture and rural areas.
In the High Pyrenees, livestock farmers from Pallars blocked the N-260 at Sort on Thursday, while those from Ribagorça stopped traffic on the N-230 at Les Bordes, near the Aragon border. The intermittent closures sought to halt the agreement's signing. Pau Barrull, a young farmer, said PAC subsidy reductions could end many small-scale extensive livestock operations in the Pyrenees. Victòria Pascual of Revolta Pagesa accused international treaties of "suffocating and sinking" European farming through unequal conditions.
Further afield, around 40 farmers from Ripollès and Vallespir in northern Catalonia began an open-ended blockade of the Coll d'Ares road at 9am Thursday, ringing cowbells amid snow in the afternoon and pledging to hold strategic points. Guillem Pastoret, a Revolta Pagesa spokesperson from Ripollès, told ACN the deal endangers local agriculture and rural life.
Additional blockades include the AP-7 between Borrassà and Vilademuls in Girona, the A-2 at Bell-lloc d'Urgell and Mollerussa in Lleida, the C-16 between Casserres and Berga in Barcelona, and the T-11 and A-27 accessing Tarragona port. Truck traffic dropped nearly 90% on Thursday.
Catalonia's Agriculture Minister Òscar Ordeig has urged dialogue, meeting Revolta Pagesa representatives to channel demands to the EU. He backs fair trade with equal competition and protection for Catalan food quality. Protesters in the Pyrenees plan slow marches today.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: