Farmers in Spain and Poland demonstrated on Friday as part of ongoing protests against European Union farming policies and to demand measures to combat production cost hikes, reduced profits and unfair competition from non-EU countries.

The actions follow similar protests in France, Greece and other EU member nations in recent weeks.

Farmers complain that the 27-nation bloc’s environmental and other policies are a financial burden and make their products more expensive than foreign imports.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has made some concessions to farmers over the last few weeks, including shelving plans to halve the use of pesticides and other dangerous substances.

In Spain, farmers maintain that a law aimed at guaranteeing wholesale major supermarket buyers pay fair prices for their goods is not being enforced while consumer prices soar.

Friday’s protests centered around the northern cities of Oviedo, Pamplona and Zaragoza, with tractors clogging several city streets and commuter roads. In many places, farmers had kept their protests going overnight.

A group not affiliated with Spain’s three main farming organisations has called for farmers to move on Madrid at midnight for a Saturday protest near the headquarters of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party.

The demonstrations are expected to continue over the coming weeks with a major protest being organised in the capital for February 21.

Several Spanish media reports have linked many of the protests to conservative and right-wing groups.

Police said 20 people have been arrested during this week’s demonstrations.

In Poland, farmers angered especially by imports of cheap grain, milk and other produce from Ukraine, drove tractors across the country to slow down traffic and block major roads, some displaying signs that read “EU Policy is Ruining Polish Farmers”.

“The protest is directed against the policy of the European Union, against the Green Deal and against the policy that allows for an uncontrolled inflow of farming produce from Ukraine,” Adrian Wawrzyniak, spokesman for the Solidarity Union of Individual Farmers, told The Associated Press.

He said storage warehouses are filled with Ukrainian grain causing prices to fall 40% in 2023. There is lower demand for Polish sugar, milk and meat, making farmers hold off on investments.

Farmers are also concerned that the EU’s Green Deal, which calls for limiting the use of chemicals and limiting green gas emissions, will result in a reduction in production and income.

They say that the EU’s requirement for 4% of farmland to be devoted to biodiversity and landscape protection will also have a negative effect on their output.