Germany proposes toll on foreign motorists to upgrade roads

Germany on Monday proposed the introduction of a new toll on foreign motorists using German roads in order to garner funds for necessary repairs and upgradation of the nation's road network.

The toll, proposed to be imposed at the start of 2016, will affect about 700 million foreign motorists using German roads and is expected to raise about €600 million ($816 million) in annual revenues for investment in roads, including the Autobahn, the nation's vast freeway system.

As of now, 20 European states already collect road toll. ''We want to close the justice gap,'' said German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt.

The imposition of the tax, which was part of the agreement reached last year between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the left-leaning Social Democrats to forge a new coalition government, had faced criticism from the European Union.

German motorists will be exempted from the toll with the government reducing the road tax car owners currently pay so as to offset the new charge. Foreign motorists, on the other hand, will be required to buy a sticker for travel on the nation's roads.

Dobrindt said he has had a number of conversations about his plans with senior EU officials, including the transportation commissioner, Siim Kallas.

The European Commission, however, has repeatedly warned Germany that any such toll must treat drivers from other EU countries equally.

Under the toll plan, foreigners can purchase the stickers, with validity of ten days, two months or the whole year, over the internet or at petrol stations.

The ten-day sticker is expected to cost €10, while the two-month sticker would cost €20. The yearly toll will be calculated on the basis of the weight of the vehicle and its emissions.

The new road toll plan will be introduced as two separate pieces of legislation – one covering the toll for German and foreign motorists and the other reducing the road tax for domestic motorists.

Germany has a large network of roads and bridges that are worn out and needs billions of euros for repairs, but Germany has so far been reluctant to make car drivers pay. Now that the country's major parties have agreed on a tax and there is a need to find money for investing in roads, Germany is debating on imposing toll fees to fix the roads.

Meanwhile, Austrian transportation minister Doris Bures said she would "use all legal means" to prevent what she described as an act of "discrimination" against her country's drivers.

"If Germany thinks it can discriminate against Austrian drivers, this will be met with my resistance," she said on ORF public radio on Monday.

Germany has already been collecting toll from trucks using its autobahns and other major thoroughfares since the start of 2005.