UK truck drivers spark fuel protests in Europe

The pain of soaring oil prices provoked new protests in Europe yesterday, and Britain called for "global solutions" to the energy crisis.

Bulgarian truck drivers rallied, following the lead of British and French truckers and French fishermen in a wave of demonstrations and blockades by groups which say fuel costs threaten their livelihoods.

Complicating the issue for governments in a continent dependent on imported energy, many protesters blame high duties on fuel imposed by their governments as much as international oil prices.

The Bulgarian truckers' association said excise duties and value added tax contributed to surging global oil prices and made the Balkan country's fuels too expensive. It demanded excise duty rebates.

More than 150 truck drivers and dozens of bus drivers from across Bulgaria converged in a convoy on the outskirts of the capital Sofia, saying high fuel prices meant they were operating at a loss.

Similar protests took place in the Black Sea port city of Varna, the Danube port city of Russe and other towns.

"Apparently we need to find a joint solution in the EU," Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev told reporters. "There is a transport problem not only in Bulgaria, it's a European problem."

Fuel excise duties in Bulgaria, the poorest EU nation and already suffering double-digit inflation, are still lower than those in the rest of the bloc. This means Sofia could not justify a reduction in duties, Mr Mutafchiev said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was no easy answer to spiralling oil price rises without coordinated global action, and met senior oil executives to discuss supply and demand.

Hundreds of protesting British truck drivers caused road chaos in London on Tuesday. Mr Brown said he understood the impact on families, but that only an international strategy could help bring oil prices down.

"A global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Mr Brown wrote in the Guardian newspaper, pledging to put international action on oil prices at the top of the agenda at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Japan in July. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Tuesday for a European Union cap on fuel sales tax.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters yesterday eurozone finance ministers would not back such tax changes. Asked about Mr Sarkozy's proposal, Mr Brown's spokesman said tax policy would remain a matter for Britain although oil prices would also be discussed at the coming EU summit.

Britain levies the highest fuel duty in the EU, with nearly 65 per cent of the pump price of petrol due to tax.

Diesel is about £1.30p (€1.65) a litre in Britain, more than double the US price. Hauliers want a cut in fuel duty of 20 to 25 pence (€0.30) a litre.

Mr Brown was meeting oil industry executives in Scotland to discuss ways to maximise production from Britain's dwindling North Sea fields.

Oil fell $2 to stand near $127 a barrel by 1300 GMT, extending a slide from the previous session amid signs Asian demand could start to falter as consumer nations look to cut subsidies by raising fuel prices.