On Tuesday, Spanish farmers blocked traffic on the country's main highways, joining protests in other European countries. Farmers protest against high prices, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU countries, Reuters reports.


The farmers had planned to hold protests since Thursday, but on Tuesday many protesters took to the roads with their tractors, which led to traffic jams across the country. In Girona, on the eve of the protest day, tractors could be seen gathering with posters reading "Without farmers there is no food."


"With different shades, all over the European Union we have the same problems. Rural people are fed up," said Donaciano Dujo, vice president of ASAJA, one of Spain's largest farmers' associations.


Like their counterparts in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, Spanish farmers complain about the burden of Europe's growing bureaucracy, low prices for their products and rising costs.


They argue that the rules imposed on EU farmers to protect the environment make them less competitive than their counterparts in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe.


According to Reuters, over the past few days, blockades in France and Belgium have sometimes escalated into violent clashes with police.