Govt. and carriers agree on a reduction in fuel prices

The government and the National Road Transport Committee - a body that does not include the carriers…

The government and the National Road Transport Committee - a body that does not include the carriers who organized the strike that has lasted twelve days so far- have reached an agreement this morning that includes a reduction of 20 cents per liter in fuel prices until June 30.

The document signed by the transport associations that are part of the Committee specifies that the Executive's aid to the sector will amount to more than 1,050 million euros.

According to the Ministry's breakdown, more than 600 million will be used to grant a bonus of 15 cents per liter of fuel to the professionals of this group. Oil companies will contribute, at least, an additional 5 cents.

The government calculates that this will save each diesel-powered truck around €700 a month.

In addition, the government will grant another 450 million euros from public budgets in direct aid to the freight and passenger transport sector. This equates to 1,250 euros per truck, 950 euros per bus, 500 euros per van, and 300 euros per light vehicle (taxis, VTCs, and ambulances), with a ceiling of up to 400,000 euros per company.

The agreement includes extending the maturity of ICO loans to the sector and doubling the budget for abandonment aid to the transport profession (from 10 million euros to 20 million).

The Government will also send a draft bill to the CNTC by July 31 to apply the principles of the food chain law to the transport sector to avoid abuses in subcontracting and to prevent them from being paid less than what it costs them to perform their services.

All these measures will enter into force once the decree-law prepared by the Executive for the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, March 29 is approved as part of the plan to respond to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine.

"The Government has done its part and the transport sector must be held accountable. Subjecting society to more uncertainty is unacceptable. The demands of the Committee and the platform have been widely attended to and there are no reasons or excuses not to fully resume their activity," stated Raquel Sanches, the Minister of Transport.