Protests continued in European countries Tuesday against high fuel prices, as Belgian Transport Minister Isabelle Durant announced European Union transport ministers would meet September 21 to discuss fuel taxes.
The meeting was called at the initiative of the French presidency of the EU, Durant told a news conference after negotiations with Belgian hauliers who are calling for a "professional fuel price".
The heart of Brussels, nerve center of the European Union, has been paralyzed since Sunday by furious Belgian truckers while the protest movement against high fuel prices also spiraled in Britain and resumed in France.
As angry truckers brought traffic in Brussels to a near standstill, there were threats of similar action in Germany, while in Britain blockades of oil refineries and fuel depots have already made hundreds of petrol (US: gasoline) stations run dry.
The reason for the dissatisfaction is the worldwide price for crude oil, which Monday stayed stubbornly at a 10-year high of around 34 dollars a barrel despite a decision by the OPEC group of oil-producing countries to pump more oil to cool down the market.
Those prices mean extremely expensive petrol at the pump, which transport companies and other users complain has made their businesses unprofitable, especially given the hefty taxes applied to petrol and diesel in Europe.
Durant said she was against a cut in diesel prices, which "would send a very bad signal to oil producing countries" and be "swallowed up" by any new hike in the price of crude.
In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair also ruled out concessions to hauliers blocking oil depots around the country, and sought to end panic buying by pledging to keep oil supplies moving.
Newspapers reported Tuesday a quarter of Britain's petrol stations, mostly in north and central England and Wales, had run out of petrol Monday, on the fourth consecutive day of protests over prices.
In France, scene of angry demonstrations all last week, protests by hundreds of self-employed builders, plumbers, retailers and other small businessmen disrupted traffic in several regions.
A German federation of cargo transporters warned Monday it may follow the example of its European counterparts.
In Ireland, meanwhile, the Irish Road Haulage Association has threatened to stage a two-day blockage from Friday if the government did not cut fuel taxes by 20 percent.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern avoided the same hardline stance of his European counterparts, saying he would meet the association – BRUSSELS (AFP)
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