Brussels, 13/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - As it did for France last week, the European Commission sent a fax to the Belgian authorities on Wednesday asking for information on the state of the movement of goods on the national territory. Road blocks have been set up in different places to protest against the rise in the price of diesel. The European Commission thus reminds Belgium of its obligation to take all necessary steps to ensure the free movement of goods.
The European Executive is mainly concerned by the situation oat the borders with France and Germany and the main trunk roads. Should these be blocked, the Belgian authorities must provide for alternative itineraries and inform the economic operators of the neighbouring countries. The Commission has asked them to forward all this information within 24 hours, otherwise, it could proceed with a more formal warning, according to the procedure provided for by the "Rapid Intervention Mechanism", set up end-1998 (see EUROPE of 8 September, p.7).