site.btaUPDATED Hauliers Walk Out of Meeting with PM, Ready for More Protests

Transport sector organizations' representatives walked out of a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Thursday shortly after it began, saying they were ready to continue their protests.

Magdalena Miltenova of the Confederation of Bus Carriers said: "We were asked to leave when the Prime Minister said he would lay down the rules in that room and he would say what is to be done, and if we do not like it, we can go. And we did so. The Prime Minister does not own the State, neither Continue the Change nor any individual minister owns the State. Bulgaria belongs to all Bulgarians who have voted for those people."

She argued that the Government showed disrespect for the industry, which is in a difficult situation due to the steady rise in fuel prices.

The organizations said they were ready to resume their protests from May 10. They held two demonstrations in several cities in April.

Union of International Hauliers Chairman Yordan Arabadjiev said that those present at Thursday's meeting did not hear the Government say it intends to implement anti-crisis measures in support of the transport industry. "We have no political grievances, just economic ones," he stressed.

Transport operators demand the bio-based fuel additive to be scrapped for six months, a 50 per cent cut of the excise duty on fuels for six months, and fair road tolls.

Regional Development and Public Works Minister Grozdan Karadjov and Transport and Communications Minister Nikolay Sabev also attended the meeting.

Petkov reportedly did not agree to a reduction of fuel excise duty, citing an EU directive, which was contested by the transport operators who cited a letter from the European Commission. 

Karadjov said that tension ran high when those present interrupted Petkov several times. The Regional Development Minister specified that only the Association of Small and Medium-sized Carriers stayed on at the meeting. A couple of weeks ago, one of its TIR-truck drivers took the PM on a ride to familiarize him with road problems. Petkov's conclusion was that Bulgarian roads were "in a terrible condition".

The Regional Development Minister said the Government would analyse the hauliers' demands to decide whether they are feasible. He, however, is adamant about the need to introduce a road toll for heavy-duty vehicles on second-class roads and increase tolls for heavy-duty vehicles.

Commenting on the protests in late April, Karadjov told Bulgarian National Radio that road maintenance alone costs over BGN 1 billion a year, and those who damage the road network more should pay more. Freight transport has increased more than 20%, year-on-year, showing that the industry is growing despite the difficulties and keeping the toll on second-class roads at zero rate is economically unjustified.

The Minister argued that after the Government, bowing to pressure from protesting hauliers, scrapped the toll on second-class roads in 2020, they redirected a large part of their traffic to these toll-free roads.

In other European countries, heavy-duty traffic pays some two-thirds of the road tolls, whereas in Bulgaria light-duty vehicles and vignette sales generate around two-thirds of this revenue. Karadjov said this injustice must be remedied.  Even after their increase, road tolls in Bulgaria will remain one-third of their level in other European countries, the Minister said in April.