French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot on Tuesday called for concerted EU pressure on OPEC to lower oil prices, as protesters blockaded refineries in a bid to force tax cuts on fuel.
"It seems to me that Europe, including the European Central Bank, should express its determination to hold talks with the OPEC countries and tell them 'you cannot do just anything,'" Gayssot said in a radio interview.
French fishermen last week won concessions from the government to help cope with higher fuel prices after blockading Channel ports, and now hailers have followed suit.
The French action angered British fishermen who complained they are not receiving similar concessions to help them cope with fuel price rises, although petrol prices in Britain are the highest in Europe.
Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are to meet in Vienna on Sunday to decide whether to boost output to help bring prices down from current persistent high levels.
The only EU-level action currently in view is an investigation by the European Commission into the legality under the European Union of various schemes being proposed in France and Belgium to compensate businesses and consumers for higher oil prices.
But a spokesman for EU economics commissioner Pedro Solbes warned last week that the hypotheses on which the commission's economic forecasts were drawn up in the spring are no longer valid after the oil price rise.
The forecasts were based on an average price of 24.50 dollars a barrel for crude oil this year, but Brent crude for October delivery was trading at around 32 dollars a barrel in London on Monday – PARIS (AFP)
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