Spanish farmers stage a 4th day of tractor protests over EU policies and competition

MADRID (AP) — Thousands of Spanish farmers on tractors are blocking highways and some city streets in a fourth consecutive day of protest against European Union agriculture policies. They are demanding measures to offset production cost increases, reduced profits and competition from non-EU countries. The actions follow similar ones in France, Poland, Greece and other EU member nations in recent weeks. Farmers complain that the EU’s environmental policies are a burden and make their products more expensive than foreign imports. In Spain, farmers also maintain that a law aimed at guaranteeing wholesale major supermarket buyers pay fair prices for their goods is not being enforced. Friday’s protests centered around the northern cities of Oviedo, Pamplona and Zaragoza,