The Commission gave its qualified blessing this week to diesel tax cuts offered by some EU governments to truckers to end recent price protests, but said they should be limited to two years.

Date: 16/11/00

The Union executive also said it would investigate whether the tax breaks in the three countries concerned - France, the Netherlands and Italy - distorted competition in the internal market. The decision, which must be ratified by finance ministers, was taken in the framework of a regular review of exemptions which all 15 EU governments have from the bloc's excise duty rules.