Fuel Price Protests Continue as EU Ministers Hold Talks

European Union transportation ministers met for emergency talks in Luxembourg on Wednesday to try to stop fuel price protests that have blockaded fuel depots, disrupted ports and blocked roads across the continent.

The protests, now in their third week, showed signs of spreading to Canada, where 1,800 independent truckers warned that they would go on strike Friday night unless something was done to reduce fuel costs.

The 15 European Union ministers gathered in Luxembourg to try to find a way to end the demonstrations against the high price of fuel in Europe--where fuel taxes range from 51% to 73% of the cost.

The ministers were considering appealing to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to produce more oil. They were also considering making a call for a unified fuel tax.

Thousands of fishermen and farmers throughout Spain shut down ports, surrounded wholesale fish markets and blockaded fuel distribution centers in the sixth day of protests on the Iberian Peninsula.

On the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, about 60 fishing boats blockaded the ports of Palma de Mallorca and Alcudia, even blocking passenger ferries. Diesel fuel in Spain has gone up 55% in the past year, to about $1.70 a gallon.

In Germany, about 300 taxis brought traffic to a near-standstill in the northern city of Kiel. The drivers threatened fare increases of 15% if the government didn’t come to their aid to defray fuel costs.