European paralysis set to spread

Several major routes are blocked in the Netherlands

Large-scale protests against high fuel prices are set to continue across Europe, as some UK blockades are being called off.

Hasty tax policies can do nothing to change things

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder

With European leaders holding firm against the protesters' demands, motorways and city streets remain paralysed in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

More protests are expected in Germany, where Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said instant tax concessions are the wrong answer to high world oil prices.

Fuel is beginning to flow once more in UK pumps

And there are signs that the unrest is also about to spread to Spain and Poland. In Ireland, drivers said they would stage a one-day strike on Friday.

But in Britain, more fuel tankers are now on the move following the decision by several protest leaders to call off their blockades.

Tax concessions

All the protesters have the same aim - to force concessions on fuel taxes similar to those achieved by French campaigners a week ago.

Europeans - Britons especially - pay some of the highest petrol prices in the world.

Belgian truckers tightened their blockades on Thursday as petrol stations ran dry and school buses were cancelled.

Talks between truckers' representatives and the government were halted in the early hours to allow unions time to examine compensation offers, including cuts in social security payments.

Many Brussels roads have been left to pedestrians

In Brussels, taxi drivers on Wednesday night blocked traffic to the country's main airport.

And Belgium's dairy industry warned that milk collection could stop soon.

Belgium's employers' federation said the protests were costing the country's economy BFr10bn ($215m) a day.

TotalFinaElf, Belgium's main petrol supplier, said that only 20% of normal deliveries were getting through the blockades.

Lorry drivers also blockaded the ports of Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge.

With diesel prices going up again on Thursday to BFr37.70 ($ 0.80) a litre, lorry drivers are demanding government action to cut taxes by BFR1.87 ($0.04) on every litre.

The move is opposed by the ruling coalition, which is partly made up of ecological parties.

Congestion

Much of the worst congestion in Germany was caused by Belgian lorry drivers who brought traffic to a halt on the border.

In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder defended fuel taxes as vital to his government's policy of cutting unemployment.

"Hasty tax policies can do nothing to change things," he told parliament.

A crowd including about 500 truckers booed and whistled Mr Schroeder in the town of Schwerin on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Europe

• Lorry drivers in the Netherlands blocked several major routes following the rejection of fuel price cuts by the Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm.

• In Oslo, Norway's road transport union said it would call its members to strike if diesel fuel taxes were not cut.

• In Warsaw, Polish truckers warned of a nationwide slowdown from Friday, with backing from farmers and taxi drivers.

• In Ireland, lorry drivers are planning a day of strikes and protests for Friday, after the government rejected a demand to cut diesel tax by a third.

• In Spain, farmers are talking to government representatives, with demonstrations planned for next week.