Thousands rally in Bucharest against excise duty on fuel products

Some 8,000 people took parts in a protest on Saturday (March 15) in Bucharest against the additional excise duty on fuel products, according to newswire Mediafax. The protest was organized by newly formed party Partidul Miscarea Populara PMP. According to PMP's estimation, there were 10,000 people at the protest in Romania's capital. The protestors marched through Bucharest waving signs and chanting “Ponta, leave, you’re killing us with the taxes”, “Down with the lying government’, or “Lying and stealing bury Romania”. On Friday (March 14), Romanian President Traian Basescu signed PMP’s petition for rejecting the additional excise duty for fuel products, that the government intends to introduce. In December last year, the Romanian President Traian Basescu said he will not pass the budget for 2014 with the excise duty increase on fuel products. Later that month, after a discussion with the President, Ponta said he will postpone by three months the excise duty increase for fuel products until March 31, 2014, and the President said he will pass the budget for this year, under these conditions. In January 2014, during the meeting with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, Basescu said he would not support the introduction of the excise duty on fuel products. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Partidul Miscarea Populara on facebook)