Hundreds of farmers block highways across the Netherlands

Hundreds of farmers organized protests in various parts of the Netherlands, blocking highways and lighting fires, AFP reported.
The protests are the latest in a wave of demonstrations across Europe by farmers demanding lower fuel taxes, better prices for produce and easing of EU environmental regulations.
"Fires have been lit, fireworks have been set off and agricultural vehicles are driving on the highway," police in the central Gelderland region said on social media platform X, adding that "action has been taken."
Law enforcement did not say if any arrests had been made.
Dutch and Belgian farmers have been protesting since last week, joining farm protests that broke out in France last month and have since spread to Germany, Poland, Romania and Greece.
Among other grievances, farmers express their anger at what they see as overly restrictive agricultural regulations.
Meanwhile, the EU is trying to address these concerns ahead of this year's European Parliament elections.
On February 1, the European Commission promised measures to protect the "legitimate interests" of EU farmers in trade negotiations, including by "ensuring equality in terms of standards when we have trade agreements"./BGNES