Romanian transporters, farmers block roads over expensive civil liability policies

Transporters and farmers from across the country staged roadblocks on ring roads in Bucharest and other cities on Wednesday in response to, among other things, compulsory civil liability policies, demanding the prices of these policies be capped.

Their main complaint focuses on the very high costs of motor liability policies. Augustin Hagiu, President of the Federation of Romanian Transport Operators (FORT), emphasised the need to cap the prices of these policies.

Another demand is the “non-discriminatory fiscal treatment of employees in the private sector regarding the accommodation allowance”.

Additionally, transporters are urging the application of RO-Etransport solely for goods with a high fiscal risk, aligning with European Directive 2006/112 provisions. They are also pushing for the swift enactment of an anti-dumping law to counter unfair competition across economic sectors.

Discussions were scheduled on Thursday morning. While the protesters camped on the Bucharest belt overnight, they warned of advancing into the city with their trucks if negotiations with the government proved unsuccessful.

Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said his Ministry had not received any formal claims. The representatives of some agricultural organisations announced that they had nothing to do with the spontaneous protest announced online by farmers from several areas of the country, but they confirmed the participation of some farmers from their organisations.

Barbu revealed plans to convene a meeting with all agricultural associations and federations on Monday to present the programs prepared for the upcoming year.

He reassured farmers that subsidies would be disbursed promptly, with the diesel subsidy continuing at the maximum feasible amount.

Nicu Vasile, President of the League of Associations of Agricultural Producers in Romania (LAPAR), told Agerpres that there are ”numerous constraints faced by Romanian farmers, deviating significantly from the promises made during the country’s accession to the European community in 2007”.

“Absolutely no promise was respected, apart from the fact that the subsidies were reduced”, he added.

Florentin Bercu, the executive director of the National Branch Union of Plant Sector Cooperatives (UNCSV), argued that Romanian farmers should be allowed to produce under the same conditions as Ukrainian farmers, as they are affected by the decisions taken to support Ukraine.

(Cătălina Mihai | Sebastian Rotaru | Euractiv.ro)