EU to combat high oil prices

French prime minister Lionel Jospin wants Opec to push down prices

With crude oil prices reaching a new 10-year high, the European Commission has said it wants common action to bring them down from "unacceptable levels".

US President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, is set to meet the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah on the sidelines of the UN Millennium summit to talk about energy prices

Opec president Ali Rodriguez Araque sees little reason to intervene on the oil markets

In London, the price of the market's benchmark, Brent crude for delivery in October, peaked at $32.88 a barrel before slipping later to $32.48 for a 36 cent loss on Tuesday. One-and-a-half years ago, a barrel of crude oil could be bought for less than $10.

A spokesman for energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio said oil prices were too high "not only for the importer ... but also for the entire world economy".

He said Mr de Palacio would present a report on world oil prices to the commission on Wednesday, which would then try to build a common European front to bring down prices.

Earlier on Tuesday, the French transport minister Jean-Claude Gayssot called on his EU colleagues to put pressure on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to boost production and bring down prices.

On Friday, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin demanded Opec to take action and tackle high prices.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, is seen as holding the key to market movements, and US President Bill Clinton will meet the country's crown prince to discuss the situation.

The US has urged the Saudi government repeatedly to do bring more oil on the market.

French protests

High petrol prices have pushed up inflation across Europe, and triggered widespread protests by French truckers, who are blockading 60 oil refineries and depots across the country.

A week ago French fisherman had blocked ports to protest the cost of diesel fuel and forced the government to promise them financial help.

However, despite its call to bring down prices, the EU commission says it will examine the French fuel subsidy to see whether it is breaching European competition rules.

Opec treads carefully

Opec officials, meanwhile, seem to stand fast on current production levels.

Oil producing countries reportedly fear that any further increase in production levels could backfire on the cartel and drive down prices well below the target level of $25 a barrel.

The organisation recently agreed to raise output by 700,000 barrels a day, a decision that made little impact on the markets.

There is now talk to increase production by a further 500,000 a day, but one Opec official told the news agency Reuters that "increasing by too much would be shooting ourselves in the foot".

"At the same time 500,000 barrels per day cannot do anything. It will just mean a status quo. Last time we increased by about 700,000 and that did not have an impact on prices", the Opec delegate added.

Saudi Arabia is the country most likely to push for more oil production, and probably the only Opec member with production capacity to spare.

Opec will meet on 10 September for a summit meeting, which could be decisive for the future direction of oil markets.

Some countries, like Venezuela, want prices to stay high as they boost their revenue.

However, other Opec members fear that high prices will persuade consumers to switch to alternative energy sources and depress prices and demand in the long-term.