The transport operators have announced that they are launching a protest on May 10 in several cities of the country after their meeting with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov ended in failure.

• Meeting between PM and transport operators ends abruptly

The hauliers' demands include a 50% cut in fuel excise duty, scrapping the requirement for bio-components in fuels, and postponing the planned planned increase in road tolls.

Another protest is planned for May 18 by transport industry representatives - with a shutdown of bus services.

Transport Minister Nikolay Sabev told bTV that the government would not allow any disruption of passenger transport.

He described the upcoming protest as an attempt at blackmail by some companies. According to him, the government has paid more than 60 million leva (over 30.6 million euro) in subsidies, but this has not solved the country's transport problems.