The European Union has announced a new trade agreement with the Philippines. Negotiators from the European Commission and the Philippine government have closed a "substantial agreement" to facilitate trade between the two territories, as explained this Tuesday by the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic.

Catalan farmers will continue their road blockades across the country, they announced on Friday, hours after the 27 member states of the European Union approved the free trade agreement with Mercosur (the South American bloc), against which they had begun their protests in Catalonia. The farmers have accused the Catalan government of having "sold them out," while the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, defended the trade agreement, asserting that "Catalonia is the biggest winner." "We have a 105% agri-food trade surplus, which we want to maintain and expand," Ordeig stated regarding the Catalan primary sector. In this regard, he emphasized that, in an international context where "there are countries in the world that are isolating themselves and isolating us," it is necessary to "seek new trading partners." The regional minister met this Friday in Reus with representatives of the farmers who are blocking access to the port of Tarragona and asked them to act responsibly so as not to disrupt supplies.