Brussels, 04/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 4 November during an EP transport committee hearing on motorway tollbooths, MEPs expressed their concerns about the German vignette project for private passenger cars (EUROPE 11189). The hearing provided a good opportunity for highlighting European level confusion regarding the question of taxing infrastructure.
MEPs were clearly hostile to the idea of a possible German vignette, mainly because of the fact that purchasing it would be compensated for at a fiscal level for German taxpayers but not for foreign drivers. Georges Bach (EPP, Luxembourg) therefore asserted that it was an anti-European system, while Pavel Telicka (ALDE, Czech Republic) expressed doubts about the project, as have many others, with Gesine Meissner (ALDE, Germany) questioning whether it respected the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of nationality. The Commission asserted that it would not take any position on the matter as long as the German project had still not been approved by the appropriate legislative process and that no discrimination on the basis of nationality would be acceptable and in this respect it would be very closely scrutinised. From a legal point of view, the senior lecturer at the University of Pau, invited to the hearing as an expert, confirmed that compensation for the vignette for German taxpayers appeared to be a form of discrimination in disguise and could be subject to a ruling against it by the European Court of Justice. Overall, MEPs looked at what the EU could do to make the existing or future tollbooth systems in Europe more coherent. The Commission has attested to the failure of tollbooth interoperability and has maintained its intention to ensure that the national authorities in this regard are respected, as well as the principle of non-discrimination. The possibility of introducing legislation on the issue is being looked at, which would help to provide a positive influence on how roads are used but this could prove expensive. The Commission warned that a last chance was being given to the market on this question. (MD)