Romanian hauliers protested on the outskirts of Bucharest on January 16 and blocked lanes to the Siret crossing on the Ukraine border in northeastern Romania, causing more than two-hour waits, according to border police data.Farmers and hauliers started protesting eight days ago by blocking highways and slowing traffic with convoys of tractors and trucks decked in Romanian flags. The protests are against the high cost of diesel, insurance rates, EU measures to protect the environment, and pressures on the domestic market from imported Ukrainian agricultural goods.Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu and 10 farmers’ associations on January 15 said they had reached an agreement on several demands, setting clear deadlines for meeting them, but the protests have continued. Hauliers were still in negotiations with the transport and finance ministries.The protesters want 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.Port operations continued at full pace, with grains arriving at the port mainly by rail and barge across the Danube River, although road transport was also being used, the port authority told Reuters.