Greece:Fuel reserves run low as strike enters day 5

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ATHENS, Saturday, September 30, 2000 Updated: 09/30/2000 12:34 GMT

Fuel reserves run low as strike enters day 5

Petrol pumps ran dry yesterday in Crete and the Dodecanese as a strike against high fuel prices by Greece's petrol tanker and truck drivers entered its fifth day. Reneging on a promise - rejected by strikers as unsatisfactory - on Thursday to reduce tax on diesel fuel by 2.5 drachmas per liter, Finance Undersecretary Apostolos Fotiadis said yesterday that it would be impossible to do so.

He explained that, when making the promise, he had been unaware of National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos' Papantoniou's previous refusal to lower tax on fuel. The EU Council of Finance Ministers that met in Brussels yesterday also ruled out any cuts in fuel tax.

Reserves began to run out in Thessaloniki and other provincial towns, while Athens, according to fuel market sources, can still cope for a week.

The truck drivers' strike is beginning to take its toll on the availability of consumer goods, and a protracted strike could lead to shortages in fruit, vegetables and meat products next week. Petrol station owners are also considering strike action.

http://www.k-english.com/content.asp?id=51263

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 02, 2000

Answers

So, the European fuel tax problem lingers. Now Greece? Where next?

-- Loner (loner@bgfoot.com), October 02, 2000.

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