Brussels, 18/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Germany was sent a letter of formal notice by the European Commission on Thursday 18 June for its road charging scheme. The Commission is of the view that the German law introducing the scheme breaches the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality.
“A toll system can only be compliant with European law if it respects the fundamental Treaty principle of non-discrimination. We have serious doubts that this is the case in the final text of the relevant German laws. We are now acting swiftly to clarify these doubts through an infringement procedure in the interest of EU citizens”, said Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.
In the Commission's view, that German residents can deduct the cost of the road charge vignette from their annual vehicle tax bill is not compatible with the European treaties, specifically with the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality (Articles 18 and 45 of the TFEU). In addition, the Commission believes that it is not possible to deduct charges from one of the taxes that finance the general budget of the state.
The price of short-term vignettes, which are typically bought by foreign, infrequent users, is disproportionally high compared with the cost of the annual vignette, the Commission believes.
In an interview with Bild Zeitung, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced the suspension of implementation of the new law, known as the PKW-Maut while awaiting the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). “The Federal government has clearly shown that the road charging law was fully in line with European law”, he said, and, to support his argument for the German law, he highlighted decisions - in his view, similar, taken by Austria in 1997 and the United Kingdom last year - that did not raise the wrath of the Commission. “These cases are not comparable, either from a factual or a legal point of view”, comes the response of the European institutions. “It's a calculated political move”, a European source told EUROPE: “Either the CJEU will uphold the German law and the minster comes out a winner, or the Court will overturn the law and the minister will be able to point the finger of blame at Brussels”.
Germany now has two months to respond to the Commission. (Pascal Hansens)