The tax breaks won by European truckers last year through strikes and blockades will be short-lived.

European Union finance ministers have agreed to phase out the tax breaks on diesel fuel implemented by some countries. The deal requires countries to reduce the discounts next year or limit them to 40,000 liters per truck. They will be dropped completely after 2002.
France, Italy and the Netherlands granted waivers on fuel taxes last fall in response to protests over high fuel prices. Germany, which refused to give such tax breaks, has charged that they resulted in unfair competition in the European Union, putting truckers from countries without the tax breaks at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, truckers in the United Kingdom are demanding more fuel discounts. The Freight Transport Assn. estimates that 50,000 UK trucking industry jobs have been lost to foreign truckers with lower costs.
The FTA wants an extra 10 pence per liter discount, which it says would save an average of $6,300 per truck (4,200 pounds). The group says the UK fuel taxes are the highest in Europe. Although the government has promised to cut the fuel tax by 3 pence a liter, the FTA says that will still leave the UK rate at nearly double the European Union average.
The organization cited a recent survey that found that 10 percent of UK fleet managers had subcontracted all or part of their operations to EU-based haulers, while 3 percent had relocated outside the UK.
Britain's transport minister urged truckers to apply for the tax rebates announced in November. An estimated 20,000 UK truckers have not yet claimed their rebates.