Brown warns of global oil 'shock' as fuel price protests spread

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned that the world faced an era-defining oil 'shock' that required urgent action, amid growing protests in Europe over soaring fuel prices.

"It is now understood that a global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

Record oil prices of around 135 dollars a barrel have contributed to protests worldwide over the rise in fuel and food costs, with fishermen and truck drivers taking the lead in Europe, blocking ports and road access to oil depots.

"However much we might wish otherwise, there is no easy answer to the global oil problem without a comprehensive international strategy," Brown said, adding that the problem should be made a "top priority" at the EU summit next month and the gathering of G8 leaders in July.

"The way we confront these issues will define our era," he said.

Brown's warning came a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged a Europe-wide cut in fuel taxes and Portugal's economy minister Manuel Pinho

called on the Slovenian head of the European Union to hold an urgent debate on the crisis.

French consumers pay about 19.6 percent VAT on the price of fuel.

Striking fishermen Wednesday lifted a week-long blockade of France's largest oil refinery on the channel coast, but truck drivers and farmers stepped up their own protests.

Fuel deliveries by truck resumed to the Total refinery in Gonfreville l'Orcher at around 6:00 am (0400 GMT), the site's management said. Pipeline deliveries -- which account for 80 percent of the refinery's output -- had not been affected by the protest.

But further south near Toulouse, a group of 300 farmers used their cars to block the entry to a Total fuel depot, demanding emergency measures to help the agriculture sector cope too.

And fishing fleets maintained their blockades of ports and cross-Channel ferries.

There have also been protests over fuel prices in Britain with hundreds of angry haulage truckers driving their lorries in a rolling protest through London on Tuesday.

About a hundred lorry drivers staged a similar protest in the Welsh capital Cardiff.

In Spain, lorry drivers joined striking fishermen in calling for government help to cover soaring fuel costs.

EU member states can currently give their fishermen a subsidy of up to 30,000 euros (47,167 dollars) over a three-year period without seeking the European Commission's approval.

But French and Spanish fishermen consider this too low and have demanded additional help from their governments to be able to cope with a sharp increase of diesel prices.

Italian, Greek and Portuguese fishermen may strike later this week.

At a meeting Tuesday of EU agriculture ministers in Slovenia, France and Spain led the call for direct EU economic assistance to the fishing industry.

The Netherlands and Portugal however expressed scepticism, arguing for a long-term solution for the fishermen, including modernising their fleets and increasing competitiveness.