Spanish farmers are planning to mobilize around 1,500 tractors this Sunday in Madrid, staging a demonstration that blends symbolic acts with solidarity. Among the gestures, there will be a donation of 125 liters of olive oil to the charity Mensajeros de la Paz. The action is organized by Unión de Uniones as the European Union considers short term relief measures for the agri-food sector, a request echoed by twenty-two EU member states. After the European Commission signaled softer environmental checks on smallholders within the Common Agricultural Policy, organizers argue that such steps do not fully address the crisis.
Participants will largely travel from Madrid and the regions of Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León. The tractors will gather in front of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and head toward the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Organizers are urging Madrid families to join the march to express support for agricultural reforms and government actions aimed at easing the sector’s difficulties. It should be noted that the organizations Asaja, COAG and UPA have chosen not to join this protest, even though they continue to engage with the ministry through the Agricultural Advisory Council.
EU pressure goes on
Meanwhile, the Spanish government has informed regional authorities that the national plan for the Common Agricultural Policy will incorporate the Brussels proposed measures. The push for rapid responses to urgent European agricultural issues continues, with twenty-two member states requesting immediate action from the European Green Deal leadership and the relevant EU commissioner. A letter was sent last week to Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal and the Commissioner for Agriculture, outlining the need for swift policy clarity and support.
The letter is led by Spanish minister Luis Planas and French minister Marc Fesneau and is co-signed by agriculture ministers from a broad range of countries. It lists Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia among signatories. The call emphasizes that many member states seek decisive and immediate action on conditionality, tighter enforcement, and simplified management of national strategic plans under the Common Agricultural Policy. It also notes that recent EU rule changes have become harder for farmers to meet, particularly when comparable standards do not apply to products sourced from non EU countries.