Catalan Farmers Protest

Spanish farmers in the northeastern Catalonia region hit the roads again to protest about the sector's struggles, blocking motorways with tractors including a busy highway linking Spain with southern France.

Around 100 tractors cut the AP-7 motorway in both directions at Pontos some 40 kilometers from the French border in a protest that began shortly after midnight.

During the morning, they let a handful of lorries through but they threw some of their produce onto the road, notably fruits and vegetables from Morocco, with images showing boxes of green beans and tomatoes strewn across the tarmac.

Demonstrators say they are planning on continuing their protest for at least 48 hours.

They also blocked the A2 motorway linking Madrid and Barcelona as part of a string of protests over what they say is unfair competition from outside the EU.

They say such products "do not have to meet the same criteria" that EU member states are required to apply, and they also want Brussels to reduce the red tape, according to a statement from Unio de Pagesos, one of the farmers' unions behind the protest.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks over what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.

Since the start of February, farmers have been mobilizing across Spain.

Catalan farmers flexed their muscles earlier this month when a thousand tractors converged on Barcelona.

Beyond the sector-wide demands across Europe and Spain, Catalan farmers have been suffering from a three-year drought and are angry about the water restrictions put in place by the local authorities.

Thousands marched through Madrid following a demonstration five days earlier in which 500 tractors trundled into town.