European leaders remain defiant over fuel protests UK police have been called in to escort tankers through blockades September 13, 2000 Web posted at: 6:08 PM EDT (2208 GMT)

LONDON, England -- European leaders have again defiantly rejected demands for cuts in fuel prices amid a wave of protests causing serious petrol shortages and widespread chaos in a number of countries.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, joined by leaders in Belgium and Germany, warned that lives would be put at risk if fuel supplies to key services were not restored following the disruption caused by blockades of oil refineries.

Schools, businesses and transport have all been affected by the protests in the United Kingdom, with the National Blood Authority on alert, saying it feared its blood supplies could soon be affected.

The British government also put military fuel tankers on standby in case they are needed to get deliveries through.

William Hague, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, urged for a recall of the UK Parliament from its summer recess to deal with the crisis as Blair prepared for more urgent meetings with top advisers on Thursday.

Blair insisted he would not be pressured into lowering fuel taxes, saying that would shatter his government's credibility.

He said: "Whatever the protesters do ... it cannot be right to try to force a change in policy by these means. We will not be intimidated. We will not give into violence, to blockades, to threats."

In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was targeted by protesters when he visited the northern city of Schwerin. The city centre was blockaded with trucks and tractors as the chancellor arrived by helicopter.

Schroeder warned that the protests would only hurt Germany's economy, saying: "Drop this dangerous game because it could threaten the growth an employment prospects we currently have."

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt also refused demands on Wednesday for a fuel-tax rebate for the haulage industry, even as protests expanded in Belgium to major freeways and border points.

In the UK, Blair has been granted emergency powers to cope with the crisis, but has made it plain he expects the oil companies to take steps of their own to restore fuel supplies.

The prime minister met Malcolm Brinder, chief executive of Shell, and John Manzoni, head of British Petroleum, for talks on Wednesday.

The meeting took place as hauliers tried to bring London to a standstill, but were prevented by police from taking their protest to the Houses of Parliament.

Nine thousand of the country's 13,000 petrol stations said they were out of fuel following nationwide blockades of oil depots, with all petrol stations in Wales reported to be closed due to lack of supplies.

Police blocked attempts by hauliers to reach the Houses of Parliament in London Health chiefs were put on "red alert" with operations cancelled due to staff being unable to get to work, while 19 schools in Wales were closed because of the crisis.

Some oil tankers were able to leave blockaded refineries under police escort on Wednesday, with two reports of bricks being thrown through the windshields of tanker trucks and at least one picketer arrested.

Road users in Norway and Switzerland have now joined others in Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and Poland to press their governments for cuts in fuel taxes.

In Belgium hauliers were blocking most of the entrances to Antwerp port, the second biggest in Europe, with managers warning of a "catastrophic" effect if the protest continues. Belgian hauliers were also blocking fuel depots and highways across the country for a fourth day.

A message to the UK government Traffic in both directions on the main A44 German motorway was halted by a barricade of trucks set up near the Eynatten exit on the Belgian side, a police spokesman in the German border city of Aachen said.

Dutch lorry drivers kept up a third day of protests on Wednesday, blocking several main routes after Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm rejected demands for lower fuel taxes.

Royal Dutch/Shell, meanwhile, said it intended to press ahead with a price hike of several cents for diesel fuel.

In France, where the government has agreed to concessions, motorists around the country are still queuing up for petrol.

Deserted streets as the protest hits in Belgium In Italy, taxi drivers and hauliers are yet to reveal whether they will act after a meeting with Transportation Minister Pierluigi Bersani.

The Irish Road Haulage Association, which represents about 1,200 of its country's 4,000 lorry drivers, has said it will mount protests on Friday and next Monday unless the government agrees to a 20 percent cut in duty on diesel.

Farmers in Spain are planning a series of protests after talks with the Madrid government failed to reach a deal on how to compensate them for rising transport costs.

And road users are also considering action in Poland, Norway and Switzerland.

The Swiss government has refused to yield to calls by Swiss transport associations to cut the tax on petrol in the face of high market.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/13/fuel.protests.04/index.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 14, 2000