| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian |
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 17.9.00 |
| Publication Date | 17/09/2000 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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Taking a cue from recent action in France, this week saw an unprecedented uprising of direct protest by a disparate group of farmers and other rural interest groups, road hauliers, taxi drivers and others, tacitly supported, opinion surveys would suggest, by the majority of the public, across a large number of European countries, demanding a reduction in fuel taxes and other costs associated with driving a vehicle on roads. Many European governments seemed to be surprised by the degree of popular support for the protest and the ability of small numbers of protesters blocking the distribution of oil and slowing down traffic to have a major economic and social impact on cities, regions and even whole countries. The organisation representing many of the world's major oil producers, OPEC, called for a reduction in fuel taxes imposed by the governments of the consuming countries, while European governments called for a further reduction in the price of crude oil. The environmental argument calling for policies to encourage a reduction in the use of road vehicles went largely unheard. Background An earlier In Focus Since the Spring 2000, however, prices have not fallen and the price paid by the consumer of petrol has continued to rise. At further meetings in June and September 2000 OPEC members agreed to increase output of crude oil. In September it was agreed to increase production by 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day. OPEC members will meet again on the 12 November 2000 to review the situation. OPEC is critical of EU Member States, arguing that the basic price of crude oil is only a small proportion of the final cost to the consumer when buying oil products for transport or heating:
OPEC further emphasised in a Press Release issued on the 14 September 2000 on the oil market situation that current supplies of oil do, in fact, exceed anticipated demands, and that other interests are predominantly responsible for the increasing prices for oil products:
OPEC also provide detailed information on the breakdown of costs associated with the buying of petrol and other oil products in the EU and other parts of the world. While all European countries impose fuel taxes there are also considerable variations between one country and another. These can be seen in the Oil Bulletin published by the European Commission. The road haulage industry has been in the vanguard of the current protests. For an extended period the European road haulage industry has been unhappy about increasing costs and regulation, working conditions, congestion and, generally, what they perceive as their low status in the minds of politicians. The current explosion of protest began in France in early September. The French authorities gave a number of concessions to a number of the protesting groups and the blockades and protests came to an end. However, on this occasion, the protests (and the concessions) seemed to act as a spur to similar groups in other European countries. Protests and other forms of action took place in Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, amongst others. Details of these protests can be found in the BBC News website Fuel price protests. Reaction at the EU level was muted. At an informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Versailles, 9 September 2000 a statement was issued saying that 'Oil prices need to return to a level that preserves worldwide growth', and calling on 'OPEC to implement measures that ensure that market supplies are better adapted to the global economic situation'. The EU also issued a brief statement on 13 September 2000 welcoming the OPEC decision to increase production. The French EU Presidency arranged a special meeting of EU Transport Ministers to be held on 20 September 2000. While the environmental dimension went largely unheeded by the protesters and the media, both the European Environmental Bureau and the Friends of the Earth issued statements. The European Environmental Bureau said 'Environmental organisations support the European Commission and several EU governments in their efforts to resisit pressure from the transport sector for reduction of taxes and duties on petrol'. The EEB went on 'the real costs to society of the use of petrol are still not reflected in the price. For environmental and related social reasons (health, noise etc) an ever increasing volume of road and air traffic is unacceptable'. The Friend of the Europe, UK Branch, urged the UK Prime Minister to speak out to justify fuel tax.. Further information on the environmental dimension can be found on a BBC News page. Also relevant is a report of the health cost to Europe of traffic-related air pollution from The Lancet. Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: Topic Guide OECD Economic Outlook, No.66, May 2000 Business Guide to EU Initiatives, 1999 European Sources Online: European Voice Further information can be seen in these external links: European Commission: DG Energy and Transport European Commission: DG Environment BBC News The Guardian The Lancet International Energy Agency International Road Transport Union (IRU) - IRU appeals to EU Finance Ministers: reduce Fuel Taxes , 8.9.00 European Environmental Bureau (EEB) Friends of the Earth Europe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change United Kingdom: No 10 Downing Street United Kingdom: Department of Trade and Industry United Kingdom: Road Haulage Association United Kingdom: National Farmers' Union Vote.co.uk Further and subsequent information on the subject of this week's In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'oil' or 'European fuel crisis' in the keyword field. Ian Thomson Taking a cue from recent action in France, this week saw an unprecedented uprising of direct protest by a wide group of people across a large number of European countries, demanding a reduction in fuel taxes and other costs associated with driving a vehicle on roads. |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport, Taxation |
