Romania’s road freight operators go on strike over fuel excise

Newsroom 09/12/2013 | 10:34

The national road confederation (CNR) announced on Monday its members along with representatives of other transport associations will stop their activity for an indefinite period, citing the government’s lack of support for the industry and the roll out of a new fuel excise tax.

Augustin Hagiu, president of the CNR, said that over 86,000 trucks will grind to a halt across Romania.

“The current minister of transport (e.n. Ramona Manescu) did not respond to any of the requests made by the transport associations since taking over the mandate, choosing, instead, to meet like the former minister Relu Fenechiu, only with those “close” to the ministry, which have been participating in recent weeks to secretly “arrange” the legislation,” said the CNR in a statement.

The association warned that stores could remain out of stock during the winter holidays as a result of the protest.

According to the Association of Large Retailers in Romania (AMRCR) the stores are currently fully stocked and the first supply disruptions may appear for fresh products if the strike lasts for more than two days. Some of the AMRCR members include France’s Carrefour and Germany’s Kaufland.

Transporters are also angry about the roll out of new fiscal changes in the 2014 budget such as the new fuel excise of EUR 0.7 and the new computation mechanism for all excises.

The CNR called these measures “an abuse” that would dent the competitiveness of Romanian freight operators on the European and regional market.