Road charging in Europe easier said than done

Europe's new transport commissioner Violeta Bulc has arguably one of the most challenging jobs in the entire European Commission (EC).

Having taken up office on Nov. 1, Bulc has 100 days to shape an agenda for the European Union (EU)'s transport policy before putting proposals to the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the EU.

Road transport is the largest single emitter of greenhouse gas and polluting emissions in the EU, accounting for about 27 percent of total energy consumption, according to a report published last week by the EC. But tackling the growing problems of road congestion and pollution remain problematic within individual countries, let alone across all 28 EU member states.

Ideally, governments want to introduce charging systems based on the 'polluter-pays' principle. But this is easier said than done.

At the end of October the German government introduced a bill for a controversial road toll which would force foreign car drivers to pay up to 130 euros (162 U.S. dollars) a year to use the country's highways, or autobahns.

Germany wants to use the funds to maintain its transport infrastructure which is used by millions of foreign vehicles. Currently only heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) have to pay an autobahn toll.

But the plan could face a legal challenge by the EC in Brussels for discriminating against foreign motorists.

After heated debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), transport minister Alexander Dobrindt dropped an original scheme to charge a fee for using all of the country's roads.

However, the minister stuck to the plan to levy a fee on the autobahn network insisting it would not lead to extra costs for German drivers as they would be able to offset the charge against the country's existing motor vehicle tax.

Introducing the draft law, Dobrindt said the infrastructure fee "is sensible, fair and just," adding that the revenues would only be used to modernize Germany's autobahns and main roads. He was also convinced that the law would not discriminate against foreign motorists and therefore would stand any legal challenge.

The CSU says it is unfair that foreign motorists do not currently pay tolls on German highways while German drivers already have to pay tolls in neighboring countries like Austria, Switzerland and France.

The toll is scheduled to be introduced in 2016 and motorists would pay by registering their license plates via the internet. Foreigners could also pay at gas stations.

The fee would take into account the cylinder capacity and environmental compatibility of the car with a maximum toll of 130 euros a year. Foreign drivers would be able to pay just 10 euros for a 10-day toll or 22 euros for two months.

The minister expects to raise 3.7 billion euros from the charge, of which around 3 billion euros will come from domestic drivers.

Meanwhile, in neighboring France attempts to impose a transit tax on HGVs are in disarray following the indefinite suspension of the 'ecotaxe.' The ecotaxe was to apply to all goods transport vehicles over 3.5 tonnes using the 15,000 km of the French national road network ('N' roads). Highway users - both trucks and cars - already pay tolls through the peage system.

However, the tax has been fated ever since it was conceived as far back as 2008 as part of a national enquiry into future environmental policies. In October 2013, the then Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault delayed its introduction following violent protests by haulers, especially in Brittany. At the time, he emphasized the scheme was not being abandoned but "time was required to make adjustments to it."

Then in late September this year road transport federations called for more protests against the tax with threats to mount blockades on major routes. Finally, on Oct. 9, a meeting with government ministers ended with ecology secretary Segolene Royal announcing that the ecotaxe was to be suspended indefinitely. Most observers viewed the move as effectively killing it off.

On Nov. 4, the EC announced it could propose a new law to make road toll schemes across Europe more user-friendly if member states can not agree on non-binding measures to harmonize the different systems and charges across the EU.

Speaking at an EP hearing on road toll systems for private vehicles, the Commission said there was room for new initiatives. As more countries introduce road toll schemes, the EC wants to ensure that new schemes are easy to use and do not discriminate against foreign drivers.

In the EP, the largest political group, the center-right EPP, said it wants EU member states to align their road toll systems.

"Drivers should not be burdened with too many stickers on their windscreens and electronic boxes on the dashboard," stated Dutch MEP Wim van de Camp, the EPP's coordinator on the Parliament's Transport Committee.

The controversial German road toll proposal was one of the main topics at the meeting. The proposal "appears to compensate German road users, while taxing foreign ones," said an EPP statement following the hearing. Enditem