Brussels, 24/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Italian government, Mario Monti, speaking in Brussels on Tuesday 24 January, stressed the need to ensure freedom of movement in Europe at a time when a strike by lorry drivers is causing serious disruption in Italy.
“The right to strike is enshrined in the constitution but there has to be compliance with the law”, Monti said at a press conference after the Ecofin Council. “Respect for the law is a must”, he added, noting that the right to the free movement of goods was a European right. He said that his government would look at the strikers' demands on a case-by-case basis.
Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani said in a press release that he was concerned by the lorry drivers' strike and he made the point that EU states should take “all necessary and proportionate measures” so that the free movement of goods is assured. He added that Italian Home Affairs Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri had given him assurances in the course of a telephone conversation that the Italian government would take “all necessary measures” to remove road blocks put in place by strikers. The strike is in protest especially against the record price of fuel. It was launched in the night of Sunday into Monday by the Trasportounito trade union, which took its lead from a movement which brought Sicily to a standstill last week, and is causing serious disturbance across the country. Motor vehicle group Fiat had to shut down its factories in Italy on Tuesday because of a lack of spare parts as a result of the strike. (LC/transl.rt)