German truckers hold go-slow protest, government stands firm

BERLIN - Thousands of truckers staged a decidedly German protest against rising fuel prices Tuesday, lining up peacefully to block Berlin's central thoroughfare in a demonstration nothing like the chaotic protests elsewhere in Europe.

Germany has watched other governments cave in to demands, but so far has stood firm against scaling back a controversial ''ecology tax'' on fossil fuels.

The 15-nation European Union said Tuesday it had no immediate plans to follow the United States' lead and offer relief by releasing strategic oil reserves. But EU officials said that could change after finance ministers meet Friday.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder tried to deflect German truckers' ire onto his EU neighbors Tuesday, arguing that other countries' capitulations - and not the ecology tax - were creating unfair competition.

After France, the first hit by the recent wave of protests, offered gas tax rebates, drivers in other countries followed suit, creating traffic havoc across the continent.

Unilateral French action ''has further intensified the competitive situation for German firms,'' Schroeder said. ''That is no good sign for the European single market.''

Germany offered low-interest loans Tuesday to cash-strapped trucking companies, but the truckers' association and demonstrators said that was not enough.

Trucks, tractors and buses started streaming into Berlin Monday night. By Tuesday, about 7,000 vehicles filled the tree-lined street running through central Tiergarten park to the Brandenburg Gate, but they still left a lane open for public transport.

Police closed off feeder roads and motorists mostly kept their distance. Truckers started clearing away by the afternoon.

''We don't want any trouble, but we have to do something as our jobs depend on it,'' said Harald Grueninger, a 41-year-old trucker from the western city of Fulda.

After a midday rally at the Gate which organizers said was attended by 7,000 protesters, hundreds went to knock on the Reichstag's back door. Police held back the demonstrators who screamed ''Cowards!'' and ''We are the people!''

Speaking through a megaphone, parliament's vice president, Anke Fuchs, sympathized with the protesters and invited seven truckers inside.

Although it was Germany's largest protest so far, the country has yet to experience anything like the chaos in France, Britain and Spain. There, protesters blocked oil refineries, choking gas supplies and prompting panic-buying at gas stations.

Protests continued in some parts of Europe. Greek motorists lined up at gas pumps Tuesday for a second day, fearing a trucker strike would lead to fuel shortages. In Spain, fresh fish ran out at Barcelona markets after a week of blockades and fishermen's strikes. In Seville, tractors and trucks blockaded a regional fuel depot, stopping deliveries leaving.

But in consensus-oriented Germany, where politicians of all hues regularly seek common ground with industry and labor, the truckers patiently gathered at pre-agreed points and were escorted by police into the city.

''This is a warning, and it won't be the last action. Still, blockading refineries is against the law and we don't want to go that far,'' said Peter Kofahl, 43, a hauler from the eastern city of Rostock. ''But if we just stayed at home for a week, Germany would fall apart.''