site.btaTransport Sector Representatives to Protest in Sofia over Rising Fuel Prices, Insurance Costs

The Union of International Haulers, together with the Bulgarian Association of Road Transport Unions and other representatives of the transport sector, plan to stage a protest in downtown Sofia on Friday, the organizers said. The protest will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the square known as the Power Triangle, where the National Assembly is flanked by the President's Administration and the Council of Ministers.

The sector demands meetings with the National Assembly Chair and the Prime Minister over problems it says threaten the operations of more than 15,000 companies and could lead to more than 20% of vehicles in the country being taken out of service.

Among the protesters’ main demands are more active steps by the Financial Supervision Commission and the Commission on Protection of Competition over the prices of third-party liability insurance, which the sector says are economically unjustifiably high and raise suspicions of cartel practices.

The organizers also want measures against high fuel prices, as well as inspections of the insurance market and an end to non-market practices.

The protest is backed by the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria and by more than 78 motorcycle clubs in the country.