Hungary Truckers Win Reprieve By ROBERT BARR Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Truckers in Hungary won a reprieve from higher fuel taxes Saturday while scattered protests continued elsewhere in Europe and British motorists waited their turn to fill up after a disruptive week. The Hungarian government, which met with truckers' representatives, said Saturday that it would postpone a 6% increase in excise taxes.

''This was an important achievement for us,'' said Istan Galambos, spokesman for the seven organizations representing truckers and taxi drivers.

The government promised not to introduce the 6% tax hike as long as the world crude oil price remains above $25 a barrel on a quarterly average. The tax increase would have gone into effect Jan. 1.

MOL, the Hungarian oil and gas company, raised wholesale gasoline prices by 2.7% and diesel prices 5.4% Friday.

Transport Minister Laszlo Nogradi said the formerly state-run oil company was now 75%-owned by foreign investors ''and freezing the planned excise tax raise is the best we can do right now.''

High tax on gas is a policy adopted in Europe decades ago as an environmental measure to discourage excessive fuel consumption. Taxes range from 51% in Greece to 73% in Britain, where diesel cost an average of $4.33 a gallon last month.

Crude oil prices have tripled since last December, to more than $30 per barrel from $10, reaching a level transport workers call a threat to their livelihood.

French truckers began the fuel protest Sept. 4, winning a tax break from the government and inspiring protests in other countries.

In Germany on Saturday, truckers with horns blaring drove at a snail's pace through Hanover, Osnabrueck and Meiningen as well as on highways around Ulm, but caused no serious disruptions, police said.

As in Britain, truckers in Germany appear to have broad public support - some 70% in favor, according to a poll for the Bild newspaper and MDR television.

Interior Minister Otto Schily, in an interview with Der Spiegel, warned that he would use federal border patrol officers to clear any illegal blockades.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar agreed Saturday to push for stable fuel prices and said they're weighing measures to aid sectors hit by rising costs.

''We are not going to take any decisions in the short term that won't contribute to the stability of fuel prices,'' Aznar said at a joint news conference with Schroeder.

The Dutch government reached an agreement with truckers organizations on Saturday pay them a subsidy.

The state will pay truckers, taxi drivers and bus companies a one-time subsidy worth $250 million. Companies also will be granted an extra three months to pay road taxes.

In Sweden, some 15 truckers protesting high fuel prices blocked one of Stockholm's two main harbor areas Saturday, obstructing ferry traffic. Protesters said they would allow only foods and medicines to pass through.

The truckers pledged further protests if the government doesn't act to cut prices, trucker spokesman Adam Flamholc told Swedish news agency TT.

In Denmark, about 1,100 truckers met Saturday and decided to hold off on similar protests until the government meets with them Thursday.

British motorists were still lining up Saturday to refill tanks, two days after the end of protests that shut down the nation's fuel distribution system earlier in the week. The government, which has raised fuel taxes to the highest level in Europe, continued to struggle with the political fallout.

''I accept that if people had a choice between paying higher petrol prices or lower petrol prices they would choose lower petrol prices but I also accept that we need to do more to get OPEC to get the world petrol price down,'' Treasury chief Gordon Brown said.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, ending a four-day visit to London, said he would press fellow OPEC members to create a mechanism to link production to price, to stabilize prices for consumers. But he said it was unfair to blame the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries entirely for recent protests.

''What the oil producer gets paid is about 16%. The majority of it is tax, which in fairness to the government of this country they have accepted and admitted,'' Obasanjo said.

http://www.usatoday.com/aponline/2000091614/2000091614142300.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 16, 2000