Five European automobile clubs, including the ACL, have written to the European Commission requesting clarification on German plans to introduce motorway tolls.
Under debate in Germany for several years and particular resistance from regional governments, the vote to pass the bill was made this March, following discussions with the European Commission which held in 2015 decision that the tolls would breach European law by creating a disadvantage for foreign drivers.
The ACL holds that the German “Maut” in its current form will necessarily have important consequences for millions of European citizens and cross-border commuters, with doubts persisting that the revised form respects the principle of non-discrimination.
The questions which remain unanswered are all the more problematic since the agreement between Germany and the European Commission (following which the latter chose to suspend the infringement procedure against Germany) is integrated In the wider context of reflections on a future European toll system.
The automobile clubs of Luxembourg (ACL), the Netherlands (ANWB), Denmark (FDM), Austria (ÖAMTC) and France (ACA) sent a joint letter to the European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, asking for clarification as to the Commission's position on the German "Maut".
For the ACL it is clear that the "Maut", as currently foreseen, does not respect the European principle of non-discrimination and does not answer the question of future financing of infrastructures.
The ACL says that it therefore expects the Luxembourg government to pursue all the avenues open to it in order to challenge this new toll.
