(14 Sep 2000) German/Serbo-Croat
Belgian truck drivers continued to block the A-3 motorway at Eynatten, near the German border, late on Wednesday as part of their protests against the high cost of fuel.
Trucks and buses were unable to cross the blockade, but cars were allowed through sporadically.
Hopes of an agreement evaporated quickly on the fourth day of the truckers' protest as the government of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt refused to give in to trucker demands for a fuel tax rebate to cope with the high prices.
Diesel fuel at the pump was 37.70 francs a litre (80 U-S cents).
Verhofstadt, who met several truck union leaders on Wednesday, urged them to end the protest blockades in good faith, but several unions refused to budge, keeping the pressure high.
A broad compensation package, which included improvements in social security benefits, had seemed imminent but was conditional on truckers clearing their barricades across the country.
Blockades expanded to include border points and major freeways in the north and south of Belgium, trapping many motorists either at home or at work.
Vast stretches of highway usually clogged at rush-hour were empty for the entire day.
The main freeways to neighbouring France, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands were also cut by blockades, prompting the European Union to issue a warning to Belgian authorities to work toward clearing main transit routes to ensure the free movement of goods and services.
The truckers also continued to block several main fuel refineries, leading authorities to fear fuel shortages of by Saturday.
Belgians have so far supported the truckers' action, opting to take public transport or walking to work instead
of using cars.
SOUNDBITE (German - PROVISIONAL)
"We would like to go home now, we've been here since a quarter to 11 yesterday and we all sleep here and we would like to go home, but because there's been no solution from the ministry in Belgium, in Brussels, we've decided to stay here."
SUPER CAPTION: Belgian trucker
SOUNDBITE (German - PROVISIONAL)
(Reporters: Who's responsible for the high cost of fuel?)
"Who's responsible for the high cost? Pff...(reporter: The government says...)...the government, OPEC, they don't blink an eye, we only know that almost three-quarters of the cost of a litre disappears into the coffers of the state - so the ministry should be able to do something about it."
SUPER CAPTION: Belgian trucker
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"I don't like being stranded here, but I support the protesters and believe that they have exploited all possibilities of achieving their goal. Fuel prices are too high and if it has to be done, it has to be done this way."
SUPER CAPTION: Macedonian Truck Driver
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