Romanian farmers, truck drivers protest near border with Ukraine

Hundreds of Romanian farmers and truck drivers protested near border crossings with Ukraine and near large cities across the country on Monday amid ongoing negotiations with the government over high business costs.
The demonstrations were mainly against the high cost of diesel, expensive insurance rates, European Union measures to protect the environment and pressures on the domestic market from imported Ukrainian agricultural goods.
Convoys of tractors and trucks began gathering six days ago on national roads, mostly near large cities in the EU and NATO state, slowing or blocking traffic.
The protesters’ demands include a moratorium on loan repayments, faster subsidy payments and separate lines at border crossings and the Black Sea port of Constanta for EU lorries and trucks from outside the bloc, including Ukraine.