The drivers dissatisfied with the high prices of fuels staged a new protest on June 23. These parked their cars in the Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau, IPN reports.
The protesters, who were fewer in number than during the previous protests, demanded that the authorities should take immediate measures to eliminate the excise duties on the import of oil products. A petition containing their demands was submitted to the Government and Parliament.
The drivers said the fuel prices are high because the government in 2013 agreed with foreign backers that provide loans to it to annually increase the excise duties by 10% until 2022.
The organizers said the June 23 protest attracted fewer people due to the propaganda measures taken by media outlets affiliated to the government. These present only a part of the truth, suggesting that if the excise duties are reduced or eliminated, the amounts collected into the state budget from which salaries are paid will decline drastically.
The National Agent for Energy Regulation repeatedly announced higher fuel price ceilings, but its last two decisions were suspended, the first at the request of Prime Minister Pavel Filip, while the second by order of the court of law following a claim filed by the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. The prices announced on May 15 are now used: 19.15 lei per liter of gasoline and 17.09 lei per liter of diesel fuel. Dissatisfied with the rises, the drivers, mobilized through social networking sites, mounted three protests earlier, on June 3,6 and 16.
