Germany in EU dock over road toll plan
Photo by M.Minderhoud
(BRUSSELS) - Germany was referred Thursday to the EU Court of Justice over its plan to introduce a road charging scheme for private vehicles (PKW-Maut) which, according to the Commission, is discriminatory.
The new German law grants vehicles registered in Germany the benefit of a 1:1 deduction of the road charge from their annual vehicle tax bill.
This means that cars registered in Germany would be exempt from the charge.
Furthermore, the Commission notes that prices for short-term vignettes (that is, for periods of less than a year), intended for use by vehicles registered abroad only, are disproportionally high in some cases.
The EU executive considers the German system fails to comply with the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) principles of non-discrimination based on nationality and the free movement of goods and services. It says the German legislation is found not to be in line with those principles.
While there have been many exchanges with the German authorities since November 2014, the Commission now says its fundamental concerns have not been addressed. It has therefore decided to refer referring Germany to the European Court of Justice.
While EU Member States are able to introduce their own road charges for Heavy Goods Vehicles and passenger cars, it a Member State wants to make foreign users pay for the use of national roads, the charge must apply to all users - foreigners and the Member State's own nationals alike.
A key requirement of the EU's non-discriminatory road charges is that all users pay the same charge for using roads. Therefore, the introduction of a road charge for foreigners only, in law or in fact, would be discriminatory and run against the EU treaties, says the Commission.
The Commission initiated the infringement proceedings in June 2015 and sent a 'reasoned opinion' to the German authorities in April 2016.
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