About 250 tractors from Mallorca are protesting this Monday in the center of Palma to join the demands of the agricultural sector, but with a specific demand in the Balearic Islands, which is the request for added compensation to combat the disadvantage of insularity. The vehicles are currently concentrated in Palma after having left this morning from various points in Mallorca. The main avenues in the city center now present an unusual image, with dozens of agricultural vehicles on the streets.
The protests have been called by the main associations of the Balearic Islands, such as Asaja, Unón de Pequeos Agricultores y Ganaderos, Unió de Pagesos and Agroalimentary Cooperatives. The tractors left at 9:30 a.m. from municipalities such as Inca, Campos, Vilafranca de Bonany, Ariany, Santa Maria and Casa Blanca and went in caravans to a neighborhood on the outskirts of Palma, where they gathered.
From that moment on, they began the tractor drive through Palma with the tractors passing through some of the main commercial avenues in the city center to end at the Passeig des Born, in the heart of Palma, next to the headquarters of the Delegation. of Government in the Balearic Islands. Throughout the journey, the tractors have sounded their horns. The concentration has caused traffic closures on some of the city’s main avenues.
Added to the generic demands of the agricultural sector in the Islands are the specific demands in the case of the Balearic Islands, especially in matters related to insularity. The various governments of the Balearic Islands have been demanding from the European Union for specific recognition for the archipelago for years, something which already occurs in the case of the Greek islands, which means specific laws and special economic aid. Specifically, they also ask for a streamlining of aid from the EU.
In terms of community policy, farmers are asking for a moratorium on the implementation of the digital card because it is “unaffordable bureaucracy” and they are crying out against “unfair competition” by foreign EU countries that do not comply with the regulations. regarding animal welfare, food safety and waste that “increase production costs.”
