Protesters block freeway in Barcelona due to rising fuel prices

Dozens of people blocked Barcelona’s major motorway Ronda Litoral on Monday to protest rising fuel prices, 20minutos newspaper reported.

The freeway is reportedly blocked by protesters for the fourth working day in a row. About 70 people take part in the action, which began at 9.00 local time (10.00 Moscow time). It is held at the initiative of the National Platform for Transport Protection.

Earlier on Friday, the Spanish government agreed to compensate 20 euro cents for the cost of a liter of gasoline or diesel, the total amount of assistance is estimated at 600 million euros. Later, after a meeting with Spanish Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez, the leader of the strikers, Manuel Hernandez, head of the National Platform for the Protection of Transport, said that Spanish transport workers would continue the strike caused by rising fuel prices, despite the measures proposed by the government. He noted that the proposed measures are not enough, demanded that the authorities propose new – at least temporary – additional solutions.

Employees of the Spanish transport sector on March 14 began an indefinite strike, which leads to supply disruptions in the country. To end the strike, the authorities first promised to allocate 450 million euros of direct assistance, and on Friday morning they announced that they would compensate 20 euro cents for the cost of a liter of gasoline or diesel. The total amount of assistance exceeds one billion euros.