Reuters. Police scuffled on Wednesday (February 21) with Spanish farmers in Madrid as they protested against what they see as excessive red tape and insufficient state aid.
Farmers have been protesting for weeks across European countries, most recently including Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic. They all call for a reduction of bureaucracy linked to the European Union's Common Agriculture Policy and a loosening of the bloc's environmental rules.
As they waited for five columns of tractors to reach the gathering point at the central Independence Square, protesters blocked some streets with police controlling them.
Some farmers complained that police were preventing tractors from entering Madrid. The government said that 500 tractors had been allowed entry - as that was the figure given by organizers when requesting authorisation for the protest - while an additional 150 vehicles were blocked from the city.
