Farmers in Italy, Spain and Poland protest over European Union policies and competition

By CIARÁN GILES and MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Farmers in Italy, Spain and Poland are demonstrating as part of ongoing protests against European Union farming policies and to demand measures to combat production cost hikes, reduced profits and unfair competition from non-EU countries. The actions follow similar ones in other EU member nations in recent weeks with farmers complaining that the 27-nation bloc’s environmental and other policies are a financial burden and make their products more expensive than non-EU imports. The European Commission has made some concessions to farmers over the last few weeks, including shelving plans to halve the use of pesticides and other dangerous substances. The Polish and Spanish farmers drove tractors across both countries to slow down traffic and block major roads.