Sources

Arguments for and

The German Road Toll

and the EU

Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Kehl

Informationsmanagement

Mr Christian Barte

Ms Antonia Dietsche

Student number: 985612

Spring Term 2015

Summary

I

1. The Controversy of the German Road Toll ...................................... 1

2. Methodology ........................................................................................ 1

3. Genesis and Functioning of the Maut ................................................ 2

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments ................................................... 4

4.1 Political Dimension ............................................................................... 5

4.2 Economic Dimension ............................................................................ 7

4.3 Social Dimension .................................................................................. 8

4.4 Technological Dimension ..................................................................... 9

4.5 Environmental Dimension..................................................................... 9

4.6 Legal Dimension ................................................................................... 9

5. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 10

Sources ........................................................................................................... XI

1. The Controversy of the German Road Toll

1

1. The Controversy of the German Road Toll

The law on the German road charging scheme for private vehicles (hereinafter

“PKW-Maut” or “Maut”) entered into force on 12 June 2015.1 Less than a week

later on 18 June 2015, the European Commission (hereinafter “COM”) launched

the formal infringement procedure against Germany.2 For the time being the intro-

duction of the Maut, originally planned for 2016, has been suspended.3

You will first find an outline of the methodology applied (chapter 2). This is fol-

lowed by some background information on the Maut (chapter 3). Chapter 4 will

contain the actual position on the Maut.

2. Methodology

The team for this topic consists of Ms Kristina Pöllsner and Ms Antonia Dietsche.

We opted for the topic of the PKW-Maut for two reasons. Firstly, it fulfils the con-

ditionality of being EU-related in that various stakeholders questioned the EU-con-

formity of the Maut. Secondly, it is a current issue which allows for looking at

present-day media communication on a topic concerning the EU in real time.

This report is a “shared” work insofar as Ms Pöllsner and I split the basic research

workload. After a first brainstorming we retained the following dimensions for our

research: 1) stakeholders concerned, 2) types of media and 3) political, economic,

social, technological, environmental and legal macro-economic factors (hereinafter

referred to as “PESTEL” analysis). Each team member then proceeded to her own

analysis, with Ms Pöllsner emphasising the arguments in favour of the Maut. This

position paper will highlight the arguments against the Maut.

1 Art. 5 of the Annexe to the Infrastrukturabgabegesetz - Federal President Mr Joachim Gauck signed the law

on 8 June 2015. It was published in the official German publication medium, i.e. the German Official

Gazette (German: “Bundesgesetzblatt”) the same week on 11 June 2015. See also website of the Federal

President http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2015/06/150608-Ge-

setzesausfertigungen.html and website of the Federal Official Gazette: http://www.bgbl.de/xa-

ver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzei-

ger_BGBl#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl115s0904.pdf%27%5D__1434739378760 2 Press release of the European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5200_en.htm. 3 Federal Minister Mr Alexander Dobrindt in a press conference on 18 June 2015 available on the website of

the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

http://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Artikel/K/prognose-infrastrukturabgabe.html; see also German

newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/al-

exander-dobrindt-verschiebt-pkw-maut-in-deutschland-13653534.html

3. Genesis and Functioning of the Maut

2

The main stakeholders considered are 1) political institutions, such as the German

government or the European Parliament, 2) political parties and 3) interest groups

such as the German Automobile Club (German: “ADAC”). Of course, many other

stakeholders could be determined, such as individual road users, taxpayers, etc.

From an enterprise perspective the media can be categorised as follows: 1) paid

media, 2) owned media and 3) earned media depending on the degree of influence

of enterprises on content distributors.4 Another possible categorization is according

to the medium used e.g. newspapers, radio, etc. Still another distinction can be made

between non-interactive media and interactive media such as online social network

services.

Within media there are different elements such as text, pictures, films etc. Where

possible the type of media and different media elements shall be taken into account

when examining arguments. This paper strives for covering a large variety of me-

dia.

Due to volume restrictions this paper does not allow for an extensive PESTEL anal-

ysis. However, these dimensions shall be reflected when probing arguments

brought forward in respect to the Maut.

It must be stressed that the topic of this position paper has been breaking news as

late as 18 June 2015, i.e. two days ago, when the COM announced that it took legal

action against Germany on the issue of the Maut legislation.5

3. Genesis and Functioning of the Maut

Most European countries have some form of road pricing in place. Actually, there

are only five countries in the EU that are not collecting tolls for the use of highways

and roads: Cyprus, Estonia, Finland and Germany.6

A main distinction can be made between 1) distance based tolls, 2) local tolls and

3) tax sticker toll systems. Distance based toll prices depend on the distance driven.

4 http://danielgoodall.com/2009/03/02/owned-bought-and-earned-media/; See also: http://blogs.for-

rester.com/interactive_marketing/2009/12/defining-earned-owned-and-paid-media.html. 5 Press release of the European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5200_en.htm. 6 Website of a German public television channel: https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/bilder/pkw-maut-

131~_v-videowebl.jpg; http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/maut-in-eu-staaten-100.html.

3. Genesis and Functioning of the Maut

3

An example of distance based tolls is France and its “péage”. Local tolls are re-

stricted to a limited circumference such as cities, bridges or tunnels. These can be

found in the Benelux, Denmark, Great-Britain and Poland for instance. Tax sticker

tolls typically are flat rate road charges. Examples include Austria, the Czech Re-

public, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.

Germany has had a truck toll system since 2005. At least in this context, if not

earlier, German politicians have been musing about a toll for private vehicles.7 Es-

pecially the Christian Social Union (German abbreviation: “CSU”) started working

on the topic in 2006.8 During the federal election campaign in 2013 the CSU em-

phasised the necessity of a car toll for foreigners driving on German roads.

In a TV debate between then chancellor candidate Mr Peer Steinbrück and Chan-

cellor Ms Angela Merkel the latter clearly stated that there would be no Maut during

her office term.9 Nevertheless, it became part of coalition agreement of 2013 be-

tween the Christian democratic conservatives (“CDU/CSU”) and social democrats

(“SPD”) the parties now forming the German government. The agreement clearly

states that no German car owner should pay more than before due to the toll.10 In

2013, when Mr Alexander Dobrindt was nominated federal minister of transport

the idea of compensating the road toll with German motor vehicle tax emerged.

The term “PKW-Maut” actually comprises two legislative acts: 1) The new infra-

structural tax law (“Infrastrukturabgabengesetz, InfrAG”11) and 2) a bill modifying

the existing law on motor vehicle tax (“Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz, KraftStG“12).

The reason for this second bill is to ensure that no German resident road user suffers

from higher costs because of the road charge. The causality between the two bills

7 Website of a German magazine: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/pkw-maut-im-bundeskabinett-

zitate-aus-zehn-jahren-maut-streit-a-1008756.html. 8 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/pkw-maut-im-bundeskabinett-zitate-aus-zehn-jahren-maut-streit-

a-1008756.html. 9Video clip of the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzo3HwOr-sM 10Website of the German party CDU:

https://www.cdu.de/sites/default/files/media/dokumente/koalitionsvertrag.pdf p. 31 11 Publication in the Federal Official Gazette on 11 June 2015: http://www.bgbl.de/xa-

ver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzei-

ger_BGBl#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl115s0904.pdf%27%5D__1434739378760 12 Publication in the Federal Official Gazette on 11 June 2015: http://www.bgbl.de/xa-

ver/bgbl/text.xav?SID=&tf=xaver.component.Text_0&tocf=&qmf=&hlf=xaver.component.Hit-

list_0&bk=bgbl&start=%2F%2F*%5B%40node_id%3D%27374834%27%5D&skin=pdf&tlevel=-

2&nohist=1

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

4

was clearly established by the German federal government when submitting the

legislative proposals to parliament.13

What would be the consequences for users driving on German roads? The Maut

would cover 13,000 km of express highways (“Autobahn”, in principle without

speed limit) and 39,000 km of federal highways (“Bundesstrassen”, generally with

a speed limit of 100 km/h).14 It would basically be a modern tax sticker toll.

Car owners residing in Germany would be registered with the Federal Office for

Motor Traffic in Flensburg. The following data would be required: name and ad-

dress of the owner, licence number, cubic capacity, emission standard and the initial

registration.15 The annual road toll would be between EUR 74 and EUR 130 de-

pending on cubic capacity, engine and the emission standard of the vehicle.

Road users whose car are not registered in Germany would have three vignette op-

tions, depending of the temporal validity required: 1) ten days (between EUR 5 and

EUR 15) two months (between EUR 16 and EUR 30) or 3) one year (max. EUR

130).16 Here again the exact price would depend on the vehicle´s characteristics.17

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

As stated above this paper emphasises arguments against the Maut. To structure the

arguments I have chosen to follow the PESTEL dimensions.

13 See, for example, the preliminary remarks to the draft law of the German government as submitted to the

Federal Council (German: “Bundesrat”): http://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/drucksachen/2014/0601-

0700/648-14.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1; in the same sense please refer to the website of the Fed-

eral Ministry for Transport and digital infrastructure:

http://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Artikel/K/prognose-infrastrukturabgabe.html 14 Website of a German newspaper: http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/vertragsverletzung-eu-

geht-gegen-die-deutsche-maut-vor/11935524.html 15 § 6 InfrAG 16 § 8 InfrAG; for a graphical overview compare: http://www.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2015-05/pkw-

maut-europaeische-kommission-plant-klage; 17 § 7 InfrAG

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

5

4.1 Political Dimension

Politically there are various critics of the Maut. The relevance of the topic in Ger-

man and European public opinion and politics is obvious. Most German news chan-

nels as well as many European websites on politics have a dossier on the topic.18

Interestingly, three of the four parliamentary groups in Germany were initially op-

posed to the Maut.19 Nevertheless it became part of the coalition deal between SPD

and CDU/CSU in 2013. The SPD supported the Maut in turn for votes of their co-

alition partners on the pension at the age of 63 instead of 67 and the introduction of

the minimum salary.20 Hence, the Maut is a typical case of political log-rolling. On

Twitter user @dj_eugenious stated on 19 June 2015 that the outcome might be a

Maut stopped by the European Court of Justice (hereinafter “ECJ”) traded for the

introduction of the minimum salary and the earlier pension.

It comes as no surprise that the Maut has been unpopular with German citizens ever

since. 21 However, the CSU the party that propelled the Maut is based “(…) in the

southern region of Bavaria, where residents have long complained of having to pay

to use roads in neighbouring Austria and Switzerland, while motorists from those

countries pay nothing to drive in Germany.”22 It is unclear whether the territorial

impact of the CSU in the Bavarian border region is a sufficient explanation for their

supporting of the Maut. In fact, other federal states exposed to border regions such

as Baden-Württemberg opposed the Maut. 23

18 For example German newspaper website: http://www.welt.de/themen/pkw-maut/; also:

http://www.euractiv.com/transport/road-charging-eurovignette-linksdossier-

188203#group_extlinks 19 German newspaper specialised on public administration: http://www.staatsanzeiger.de/politik-und-

verwaltung/debatten-im-landtag/nachricht/artikel/drei-von-vier-fraktionen-gegen-dobrindt-

maut/ 20 Newspaper of the German parliament: http://www.das-parlament.de/2014/46/wirtschaft_und_finan-

zen/-/339636; http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/0daa69d8-573d-11e3-9a64-

a8a248d45364/Angela_Merkel_et_le_SPD_saccordent_sur_un_projet_de_grande_coalition 21 Surveys by an important German automobile club (ADAC) and a popular German newspaper (Frankfurter

Allgemeine Zeitung) available at: https://www.adac.de/infotestrat/adac-im-einsatz/motor-

welt/mitglieder_fuer_maut.aspx; http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/ergebnis-der-abstimmung-was-

halten-sie-von-einer-pkw-maut-11238464.html 22 Article of 7 July 2014 on http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28199383 23 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/umstrittenes-verkehrsprojekt-bundesrat-billigt-pkw-maut-1.2470790

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

6

On a European level, the German Maut plans were not well received either. At least

two other member states expressed their concerns notably Austria and the Nether-

lands.24

Whilst there is no official position of the European Parliament regarding the Maut

the chair of the European Parliament's transport and tourism committee, Mr Mi-

chael Cramer, said: “This madness must be stopped.”25 The admissibility of the

Maut was questioned in November 2014 by MEP Gesine Meissner (FDP, Germany,

ALDE group).26 Yet, in a study of 2012 the European Parliament does not contest

the validity of road charging as such but strengthens the importance of ensuring

interoperability between the technological systems on an EU level.27 In fact, the

European fragmentation of toll systems can be considered a barrier to the operation

of the internal market. In a notice of 2012 the COM states that road charges can be

legitimate but should not be discriminatory against drivers from other member

states.28 The OECD equally considers road pricing to be “worth a try.”29

Public opinion does not simply exist as such. It can be influenced and exploited.30

After reception of the COM´s letter of formal notice Germany´s responsible minis-

ter Mr Dobrindt reiterated that he was confident that a judgment of the ECJ would

24 Blog on French newspaper Le Monde site: http://allemagne.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/12/18/lallemagne-cree-

un-peage-pour-etrangers/; Austrian website: http://derstandard.at/2000015662962/Oesterreich-sucht-

Verbuendete-gegen-deutsche-Maut, German magazine: http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/oes-

terreich-macht-gegen-deutsche-pkw-maut-mobil-a-1033379.html and German newspaper:

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/oesterreich-fordert-verbot-der-deutschen-pkw-

maut-13589379.html; German newspaper publishing news agency information:

http://www.faz.net/agenturmeldungen/unternehmensnachrichten/niederlande-warten-reaktion-der-eu-

kommission-auf-deutsche-maut-ab-13582960.html and http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/2015-your-

last-chance-for-a-free-ride-on-the-german-autobahn-weighing-the-german-initiative-for-a-toll-on-for-

eign-motor-vehicles/ 25 http://www.dw.de/juncker-eu-may-challenge-german-road-toll-on-foreign-drivers/a-18489697 26 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+P-2014-

009056+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN 27 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2014/529058/IPOL_STUD(2014)529058_EN.pdf

page 15 28 Notice available at http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/other_taxes/passen-

ger_car/com_2012_756_en.pdf, p. 2 29 Online text on road pricing: What´s the deal?, 2002 available at: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/ar-

chivestory.php/aid/647/Road_pricing:_What_s_the_deal_.html 30 Hartmann, Frank, Medien und Kommunikation, Facultas Verlags- und Buchhandels AG, Wien, Österreich,

2008, S. 27.

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

7

confirm his view and would rule the Maut to be in conformity with EU law. He also

stated that he would be expecting a “tough confrontation” with the COM. 31

It seems that by repeating their position the CSU wants to forge public opinion. The

Maut issue is deeply political. It contains a debate on the nature and competencies

of the EU and its institutions. The German left wing party Die Linke states that

Brussels and the EU will serve as scapegoat for the CSU.32

In general, there is a wide resonance on interactive media such as Twitter. It in-

cludes political parties, activists and interest groups. User generated content also

allows for open polemic and humour. For example the junior wing of the liberal

party in Saxony requested the introduction of a Maut for cyclists.33

4.2 Economic Dimension

A major economic argument against the Maut is that it is inefficient in terms of

cost-profit-ratio with an estimated net profit of EUR 500 m.34 Critics are very di-

verse35 which gives it some validity.

The three federal states North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-

Württemberg argued that the Maut would hamper cross-border traffic and the eco-

nomic value attached to it.36 The same reasoning was pronounced by the French

31 See video clip of the press conference on the websites of various German newspapers, e.g.

http://www.zeit.de/video/2015-06/4304748177001/eu-verfahren-dobrindt-verschiebt-die-maut#au-

toplay; http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/vertragsverletzung-eu-geht-gegen-die-

deutsche-maut-vor/11935524.html; http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/europaeische-union/eu-kommis-

sion-veraergert-mautirritationen-der-ton-wird-schaerfer-13654861.html 32German regional newspaper: http://www.badische-zeitung.de/deutschland-1/bundesregierung-verteidigt-

pkw-maut--105643591.html 33 Twitter Account of @JuliASachsen on 1 April 2015 34 Article in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung: http://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/haengepartie-um-deut-

sche-vignette-beendet-1.18510572 35 Including, for example, the European parliamentary group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Demo-

crats (S&D), see their site http://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/newsroom/leichtfried-eu-kommission-

wird-ausl%C3%A4nder-maut-abdrehen; a major German automobile club (ADAC):

https://www.adac.de/infotestrat/adac-im-einsatz/motorwelt/mitglieder_fuer_maut.aspx and authors of

several news articles, e.g. in the French weekly Le Courrier International, cf. http://www.courrierinter-

national.com/article/2015/03/02/un-peage-non-conforme-au-droit-europeen or the local German news-

paper Schwäbische Zeitung, available at http://www.schwaebische.de/politik/inland_artikel,-Die-Maut-

wird-zum-europaeischen-Streitfall-_arid,10243136.html 36 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/umstrittenes-verkehrsprojekt-bundesrat-billigt-pkw-maut-1.2470790

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

8

interest group “Automobile Club d’Alsace”.37 But even more generally the Maut

could hurt the economy because of inefficient transport.38

Some argue that “motoring already pays for itself.”39 Still others fear that the net

profit would be used for other ends,40 would not benefit municipalities, local au-

thorities and federal states41 and more generally would be a form of Thatcherism

with all the negative side effects.42

4.3 Social Dimension

Low income groups would proportionally contribute more (relative to their income)

to the Maut – a result several stakeholders consider to be socially imbalanced. 43 The

question of equity, fairness and ability-to-pay is inherent to any public charge or

tax. It is a valid argument as effects of a tax on society should be such as not to

unduly disturb social peace. However, notions of fairness and justice greatly depend

on culture.

37 Regional French news website: http://www.lalsace.fr/actualite/2015/03/26/la-vignette-allemande-arrive 38 Theories on the PKW-Maut by Herbert Baum of 26 August 2014 available on the website of the automo-

bile industry association (Verband der Automobilindustrie, VDA): https://www.vda.de/en/Search-Re-

sults.html?q=pkw+maut 39 The International Tourism Alliance in connection with the road pricing of the Eurovignette:

http://www.euractiv.com/transport/road-charging-eurovignette-linksdossier-

188203#group_extlinks; or also the German party Die Linke as reported in http://www.das-parla-

ment.de/2014/46/wirtschaft_und_finanzen/-/339636 40 http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/vertragsverletzung-eu-geht-gegen-die-deutsche-maut-

vor/11935524.html 41 http://www.schwaebische.de/politik/inland_artikel,-Die-Maut-wird-zum-europaeischen-Streitfall-

_arid,10243136.html 42 Article in The Guardian on road charges in general: http://www.theguardian.com/poli-

tics/blog/2012/oct/29/two-tier-road-taxes-wrong-turn 43 Theories on the PKW-Maut by Herbert Baum of 26 August 2014 available on the website of the automo-

bile industry association (Verband der Automobilindustrie, VDA): https://www.vda.de/en/Search-Re-

sults.html?q=pkw+maut; German politician Mr Steinbrück in the TV debate with Ms Merkel, video clip

of the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzo3HwOr-sM; UK Labour party politician Ms Ma-

ria Eagle on the party´s website http://archive.labour.org.uk/road-toll-plans-increase-cost-of-driving;

argument mentioned in the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung: http://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/haengepar-

tie-um-deutsche-vignette-beendet-1.18510572; German left party Die Linke as mentioned on the web-

site of an industry paper: http://www.verkehrsrundschau.de/dobrindt-verschiebt-start-der-pkw-maut-

1657900.html?fromSearch=true; Similar: the International Automobile Federation in Europe in Motion,

2015 available at http://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/publication/file/europe-in-motion.pdf;

4. Appreciation of Contra Arguments

9

4.4 Technological Dimension

Critics state that the Maut would not only annoy the population but that it could

violate or at least endanger data protection rights.44 This is an argument unlikely to

be convincingly refuted given the ongoing data protection scandals.

4.5 Environmental Dimension

Within the EU there is a general consensus that externalities of car driving such as

air pollution, infrastructural costs etc. should be internalised. The “user pay” or

“polluter pay” principle is mentioned in a White Paper of the Commission.45 At the

same time several sources acknowledge the risk of undesirably diverting traffic with

tolls.46

4.6 Legal Dimension

An intriguing theory pronounced by MEP Ms Valerie Wilms (Greens, German par-

liament) goes as follows: Transport minister Mr Dobrindt introduced the Maut from

the outset with the hidden agenda to end up with a universal Maut applicable to all

and not only to foreigners.47 Indeed, many stakeholders have been considering the

Maut to be incompatible with EU law because of its discriminating nature.48

44 Theories on the PKW-Maut by Herbert Baum of 26 August 2014 available at

https://www.vda.de/en/Search-Results.html?q=pkw+maut; German Green member of parliament MsVa-

lerie Wilms as reported in http://www.das-parlament.de/2014/46/wirtschaft_und_finanzen/-/339636;

Report of the European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Technology Options for

the European Electronic Toll Service, p. 11 available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/Reg-

Data/etudes/STUD/2014/529058/IPOL_STUD(2014)529058_EN.pdf 45 Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport

system, 2011 available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0144&from=EN, p. 10; compare also

http://europeangreens.eu/news/eurovignette-kostenwahrheit-im-prinzip-fortsetzung-der-

wettbewerbsverzerrung-der-praxis 46 For example UK Green party on https://www.greenparty.org.uk/archive/news-archive/2868.html; German

local newspaper Südkurier on http://www.suedkurier.de/region/kreis-konstanz/kreis-konstanz/Parlamen-

tarier-Konferenz-Bodensee-Sorgen-wegen-der-Pkw-Maut;art372432,7748389; Study of the British par-

liament: Taxes and Charges on road users, House of Commmons, Transport Committee, of 14 July

2009, para. 115, available at http://www.publications.parlia-

ment.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtran/103/103.pdf ; Theories on the PKW-Maut by Herbert Baum of

26 August 2014 available at https://www.vda.de/en/Search-Results.html?q=pkw+maut 47 As reported in the German newspaper TAZ: http://taz.de/Verfahren-vor-Europaeischem-

Gerichtshof/!5201833/ 48 As reported in the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung: http://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/haengepartie-um-deutsche-

vignette-beendet-1.18510572; Compare also press release of 15 June 2015 of a German logistics associ-

ation on http://www.dslv.org/; Also, article of 30 May 2015 in the New York Times available at

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/05/30/business/30reuters-eu-transportation-germany-toll.html

5. Conclusion

10

The ECJ has not yet issued a statement on the Maut. According to article 258 f. of

the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) the COM can apply

for an infringement procedure where they believe that Germany is in breach of Un-

ion Law. This happened on 18 June 2015 as the COM considers the Maut to be

violating the principle of non-discrimination.49 Article 18 of the TFEU stipulates

that any discrimination on grounds of nationality is prohibited.50

It has been pointed out that the ECJ decided a case on German road tolls as early as

1992. At the time the court ruled that Germany was in violation of Community law

because it had exclusively benefitted German vehicles. However, the judgment con-

cerned freight carriers and thus included a slightly different scenario.51 Some media

state that chances are high that ECJ will stop the Maut based on past jurisprudence.52

The Scientific Service of the German parliament also comes to the conclusion that

the PKW-Maut contravenes EU law.53

The way forward will depend notably on the reaction of the German government.

Given the little conciliatory position of the government it seems likely that the ECJ

will have to decide.54

5. Conclusion

Should the Maut be successfully challenged the outcome might be either a general

road charge applicable to all (non-discriminatory) or the abolition of the Maut.55

Given all arguments outset above the latter seems unlikely.56 The precise outcome

remains to be seen. Undoubtedly the result will constitute an important cornerstone

of shaping the European Union.

49 Press release of the European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5200_en.htm. 50 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12008E018&from=EN 51 Dr. Walther Michl on http://www.verfassungsblog.de/krux-mit-maut/#.VX6Ad_mqqko 52 http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-06/eu-dobrindt-maut 53 As reported in the German newspaper Die Welt: http://www.welt.de/themen/pkw-maut/ 54 http://www.verkehrsrundschau.de/dobrindt-verschiebt-start-der-pkw-maut-1657900.html?from-

Search=true; see also: http://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/wirtschaftsticker/konjunktur-dobrindt-greift-

bruessel-im-mautstreit-an_id_4750690.html 55 Website linked to the Luxembourg Ministry of http://www.europaforum.public.lu/fr/actual-

ites/2015/06/juncker-suddeutsche-zeitung-interview/index.html 56 As indicated by a German MEP not referred to by name in the French weekly newspaper Le Courrier Inter-

national: http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2015/03/02/un-peage-non-conforme-au-droit-eu-

ropeen

Sources

XI

Sources

For sources please refer to the footnotes. All websites were visited on 20 June 2015.

Erklärung

Ich versichere,

1. dass ich die vorstehende Arbeit selbständig und ohne fremde Hilfe verfasst

habe,

2. dass ich die Übernahme wörtlicher Zitate aus der Literatur sowie die Ver-

wendung von Gedanken anderer Autoren an den entsprechenden Stellen in-

nerhalb der arbeit gekennzeichnet habe (Entsprechendes gilt für wörtliche

Zitate bzw. Fremdgedanken aus der Rechtsprechung) und

3. dass die Arbeit in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form keiner anderen Prüfungsbe-

hörde vorgelegen hat.

Ich bin mir bewusst, dass eine falsche Erklärung gravierende rechtliche Folgen ha-

ben kann.

Straßburg, 20. Juni 2015 __________________________