Report: Juncker threatened Merkel with legal action over road toll

Amsterdam - Germany’s plan to impose a de facto road tax on foreigners is continuing to asue friction between Brussels and Berlin.

Although a German government spokesperson immediately denied it, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Sunday (21 December) that EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker i took the German plan up with chancellor Angela Merkel i, threatening with legal action.

At a recent party congress of the Christian Social Union (CSU), earlier in December, Juncker i is said to have complained to Merkel about the electronic toll, which will have the net effect of only charging foreigners because German drivers will be able to deduct the costs from their vehicle tax.

Last Wednesday (17 December) the German cabinet approved the plan, which fulfils an election promise to CSU voters of Bavaria, a region in the heart of Europe that sees a lot of transit traffic. Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democratic Union is the CSU's sister party.

According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, which is generally well-informed, Juncker told Merkel that Germany risks an infringement procedure for violation of the EU treaty.

The paper also quotes a spokesperson for the German government, who denies that Juncker and Merkel spoke about the toll.

The German transport minister recently received a letter from European commissioner for transport, Violeta Bulc i, in which she expressed her worry that the toll might breach “the treaty principle of non-discrimination”.

Meanwhile in Brussels, CDU politician Elmar Brok i told the Suddeutsche Zeitung he fears his government will give neighbouring countries the idea for similar laws.

“I am concerned that Belgium and the Netherlands will also introduce a road toll”, said Brok, a member of the European Parliament.

With the German road tax, Belgium and the Netherlands would remain as rare 'free driving' countries in the western part of the European continent, where toll roads and vignette systems are common.

While in the Netherlands a plan for paying per kilometre has been cancelled by the government coalition partners in 2012, Belgium is the more likely candidate of the two to follow Germany.

For several years, a road toll that was to be paid via vignettes was a serious option in Belgium. However, in 2013 the government cancelled the plan after protests from the Netherlands and the European Commission.

Last July, when the German plan was being discussed, Belgian motorist clubs argued that if Germany were to introduce a toll, Belgium should too.

They feared that Belgian roads would become more congested if traffic from and to the Netherlands would go through Belgium instead of Germany.