As petrol deliveries resumed throughout Belgium yesterday, in Holland protests appeared to increase. A wave of wildcat blockades cut many of its key motorways, producing long tailbacks.
"We've got at least 10 to 12 blockades today. These are mostly spontaneous actions," said a spokesman from the Dutch police's Traffic Information Centre, Mr Alfred Kersaan.
The main Dutch haulier unions have condemned the wildcat action, with one calling instead on drivers to join a union-organised protest yesterday afternoon through the centre of The Hague.
At least one scuffle broke out at a blockade near the central Dutch city of Utrecht, and there were reports of frustrated motorists tearing down motorway barriers to escape the traffic jams. But police did little to stop protests.
The hauliers are calling for cuts of one-third in the tax on diesel but face strong resistance from the Finance Minister, Mr Gerrit Zalm, renowned for his hairshirt policies. Last weekend he was among those who complained at an informal meeting of finance ministers in Versailles at the French concessions to their drivers.
In Belgium the end of the dispute was met by general relief, with the paper Het Volk headlining the story simply "Ouf!". Its editorial said there was no rejoicing, and the dispute had losers on all sides.
La Derniere Heure estimated the cost to the country of the five days of protests at some £350 million, of which £80 million represented the government concessions to the drivers. That is nearly £30 per Belgian, the paper pointed out.
The package agreed by ministers includes a reduction in road tax, cuts in social insurance, and a tax breathing space for companies in difficulty. It does not include any cut in fuel costs because of strong resistance from Green members of the government.
Yesterday the government was meeting to discuss the extent of a fuel-voucher scheme also promised to those most vulnerable.
Before the meeting ministers met trade union delegations to hear of their concerns. In the Walloon cities of Liege and Charleroi workers had come out on Thursday in support of the truckers, and the government will be anxious not to see threatened protests by unions worsen next week.
The Prime Minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, praised the lifting of blockades, saying that there was a real danger of damage to the economy if protests had continued.
The truckers' action disrupted other industries as the largest brewer in this beer-loving nation halted production at its main plant producing Stella Artois lager and work ground to a halt at construction sites starved of supplies.
