Commission criticises Germany’s planned road toll law

Commission continues to monitor possible violation of EU law after German cabinet backs road toll plans.

Germany’s government on Tuesday (16 December) approved a controversial  law that hits foreign drivers for using German motorways but reimburses locals, despite warnings from the European Commission about possible violations of EU law.

Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner for transport, met Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s federal transport and digital infrastructure minister, on 24 November and informed him about her concerns.

“The Commission is in favour of the principle that users pay for the roads they drive on. There must, however, be no discrimination on grounds of nationality: all drivers, German and foreign, must be treated equally. This is a fundamental principle of the EU treaty and it is not being negotiated”, according to a Commission’s spokesperson, who added that the Commission has had “several exchanges of views” with the German authorities.

The road-toll law asks users of German motorways to pay a fee depending on the environmental impact of their vehicle, up to a maximum of €130. German drivers will have to pay as well, but they will be reimbursed through their vehicle tax.

Bulc on Monday (15 December) send a letter to Dorbindt, just two days ahead of the government vote, which said that the “proposal as it is now” concerns the Commission. To reimburse German drivers only “amounts to indirect discrimination based on nationality”. Bulc is also worried about the short-term vignettes that foreign drivers would be expected to buy. Those are not priced proportional to annual vignettes, which means that “users of smaller vehicles will pay a disproportionate fee”, she wrote. Bulc ended the letter by saying that if this is not addressed, it would “amount to a breach of the fundamental Treaty principle of non-discrimination”.

Dobrindt, a member of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is convinced that the plans do not discriminate against foreign motorists and would survive a court challenge. He says the plans are “fair and reasonable”. The plans, part of a CDU election promise, would bring in an estimated €500 million a year.

Gesine Meißner, a German liberal MEP and member of the Parliament’s transport and tourism committee, opposes the German government plans. Meißner called upon the Commission to look into the implementation of the “Eurovignette” instead, which means that car users would pay, not just car owners.

It is not certain that the plans as approved yesterday will come into force without any changes. Dobrindt aims at bringing the draft legislation in the German parliament for approval by the second half of 2015. Even though the German coalition government parties, the CDU and the Social Democrats, have a majority in parliament, a further weakening of the draft or pushing back the entry date of the law is likely as the Greens and the far-left Die Linke party oppose the plans. If passed, the law will come into force in 2016.

The Commission can take action only if the law is approved as national legislation, permitting a check on its compliance with the EU treaty. The Commission’s spokesperson said that it will continue to monitor the process and that it will “assess the law once adopted”.

Germany said the Commission’s critique was based on a text that has now been superseded. Horst Seehofer, prime minister of the German region of Bavaria and a member of the CDU, said that the EU interference “is highly unusual” at this stage. “The Commission does not know what changes the Bundestag [national parliament] might make.”