Germany has a plan in place to charge a national toll of €130 a year for all drivers on Germany’s highways, but it’s been blocked for now by the European Commission because it discriminates against non-Germans.
The “infrastructure toll,” designed to support and maintain the highway net, would cost Germans less because they would get a rebate on their motor vehicle taxes in exchange. In effect, therefore, only drivers from other countries would pay the full charge.
European Union law does not permit any of the EU countries to charge other EU citizens higher fees than it charges its own. Germany’s claim is that everyone is paying the same, and it doesn’t matter that the country is also giving a tax rebate. The case is being appealed to the European Court of Justice.
Collecting the toll is also unclear at this point; visitors using the roads for only a short period would not pay the annual rate, but the rates for short-term tickets have not yet been set.
