Thousands of Bulgarians protested on Sunday against high fuel prices which have put pressure on living standards in the European Union's poorest country. For the second time this month, long columns of cars passed through all major cities to demand lower fuel prices and transparency in price setting.
Earlier this week, the centre-right government of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov announced that Russia's LUKOIL, which controls Bulgaria's sole refinery, had agreed to impose a one-month freeze on retail fuel prices.
"We think the measures taken by the government ... will have a short-term and insufficient impact on fuel prices," the group "No To High Fuel Prices" said in a statement on its website.
"Not to mention that these (measures) distort the free market and harm the normal competitive environment."
Rallies were held the Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas, in Rousse on the Danube and in the central city of Plovdiv.
Protesters in Sofia initially tried to block the exit to Trakia highway linking the capital with Burgas but were prevented from doing so by police, Bulgarian media reported.
The economic downturn forced the minority government to freeze state salaries and pensions a year ago. Increased food and fuel prices have piled more pressure on already low incomes.
On Saturday, in a protest led by the opposition Socialists, some 4,000 people rallied in central Sofia urging the government to quit over the crisis, which has eroded support for the ruling GERB party.