Brussels, 01/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 31 May, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, informed the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, “there are significant doubts about whether the draft law on the German motorway toll project complies with the principle of non-discrimination against foreigners”. He added: “The Commission, as guardian of the treaties, will therefore have to remove this doubt within the framework of an infringement procedure and, if necessary, to go to the European Court of Justice”.
Interviewed by the Bayerkurier newspaper, Andreas Scheuer, the secretary general of the CSU, exclaimed, “this permanent EU meddling in national legislative competences is bad for Europe. Citizens have had enough of Europe interfering everywhere”.
This squabble between the Commission and Germany has been going on since the Bundestag and Bundesrat gave the project of the German Transport Minister, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), the go-ahead to impose a road tax on those using German roads as from 2016. This tax would be binding and will in fact just affect foreigners. Private car owners in Germany will no longer in theory really have to pay this tax because the amount spent at road toll booths will be partly deducted from the Kfz-Steuer, the annual motor tax, which goes against European rules.
At a press briefing at midday on 1 June, the Commission Spokesperson, Mina Andreeva, explained, “the Commission's legal services are currently finalising their legal assessment (before launching any possible infringement procedure: Ed)”. (Pascal Hansens)