In Brussels, a lawsuit against the Federal Republic is being prepared regarding the road toll
Brussels has objections to the German project, according to which only drivers of vehicles registered abroad will have to pay for using domestic roads. Although Alexander Dobrindt remains confident: the road toll, which will be compensated to German drivers from the vehicle tax, complies with European legislation. 'The Bundestag and Bundesrat approved a law that meets all EU norms and requirements,' emphasizes the press service of the Federal Ministry of Transport.
Nevertheless, the European Commission 'has serious doubts that the new German law does not violate the EU's anti-discrimination legislation,' its President Jean-Claude Juncker noted in an interview with the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The courts – up to the European Court of Justice – will have to confirm or dispel these doubts. The European Commission is preparing to file a lawsuit for Germany's violation of one of the basic provisions of the European Union treaties. The lawsuit could be prepared before the summer break, which for European Commission deputies begins in August: the specific timing depends on when Federal President Gauck signs the law that passed through the Bundesrat in early May and when its text is officially published.
The toll is to be charged for travel on both autobahns and federal highways (Bundesstraße). Owners of cars registered in Germany will be fully compensated for the toll through a reduction in the vehicle tax. Foreigners will have to pay this toll in full, which is what causes the European Commission's protest.
The road toll did not meet unanimous approval even within the Federal Republic: the brainchild of the Christian Social Union was one of the conditions for the Bavarian party to sign the coalition agreement; Alexander Dobrindt, after the 2013 Bundestag elections, had to leave his post as General Secretary of the CSU and specifically to develop the project, take over as head of the federal ministry.
Theoretically, a lawsuit against the German law could be filed not by the European Commission itself, but by one of the EU member states whose citizens it directly affects – for example, Austria or the Netherlands. But in practice, EU states very rarely take each other to court, preferring to appeal to European authorities. On average, considering a lawsuit for violation of the provisions of the European Union treaties in accordance with all its norms and procedures takes about a year and a half.
Since such a process usually never ends within six months, German citizens must assume that on January 1, 2016, the collection of road tolls will begin in the country. All those who get behind the wheel and use German federal roads will have to purchase a vignette by the beginning of the new year, the cost of which will be calculated based on the engine size and type of the vehicle and its emissions of pollutants – on average, each German driver will pay 74 euros per year for the vignette.
The vehicle tax will be automatically reduced by the amount spent on the vignette, and in some cases will not be charged at all or even compensated – the latter mainly concerns owners of new cars with small petrol engines and electric vehicles.
Foreigners, for whom the toll will apply only on German autobahns, will have to pay the full cost of an annual vignette, equal to 130 euros, or purchase a temporary one.
Shortly before the adoption of the law, prices were changed in accordance with wishes from Brussels, where the previously planned cost of temporary vignettes was deemed too high relative to the cost of annual ones. Overall, the 'Dobrindt law' was developed through regular consultations with the competent EU authorities – which makes the European leadership's objections today all the more surprising, although opponents of the toll consider them expected.
Developing a deliberately 'non-viable' bill at the expense of taxpayers is a scandal. Litigation over a bill that was promised a 'green light,' at taxpayer expense – including those very same German taxpayers – is another scandal. If all this leads to the need to cancel the toll-charge, refund illegally paid sums to foreigners, and reverse the mechanism of domestic compensations, the scandal will be incredibly loud. As 'Russkaya Germaniya' writes, in such a scandal, heads should roll not only in the CSU.