As of: April 8, 2024, 7:03 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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The failed car toll could still have legal consequences for Andreas Scheuer: an investigation is expected to be close to a decision. The penalty: Up to five years in prison.
Berlin – The “foreigner toll” of the former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) failed before the European Court of Justice in 2019. Cost for the taxpayer: 243 million euros in damages. At first it looked as if there would be no legal consequences for Scheuer - that could now change.
Car toll disaster: Scheuer concluded contracts even though there was no legal certainty
Politically, Andreas Scheuer is responsible for the car toll disaster. However, he has not yet had to face legal liability. The Federal Ministry of Transport decided last year not to take legal action against Scheuer. An independent expert came to the conclusion that although liability arising from an official relationship under public law could be considered, there were “reasonable doubts about the enforceability of possible claims,” as the ministry announced. From the experts' point of view, it was difficult to prove that the minister was grossly negligent.
Andreas Scheuer (CSU), then Federal Transport Minister, at a special meeting of the Transport Committee in the Bundestag on the failed car toll (archive photo, July 2019). © Jörg Carstensen/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++
As a reminder: The then Transport Minister Scheuer only wanted to make foreign drivers pay with the car toll, but the European Court of Justice struck down the plan because it violated EU law. The court viewed the unequal treatment of Germans and other EU citizens as discriminatory. Although there was still no legal certainty, Scheuer had already concluded contracts with several companies before the ECJ ruling. The federal government had to pay the proposed toll operators damages amounting to 243 million euros.
Conflicting witness statements: This is what the investigation is about
The Berlin public prosecutor's office has also been investigating since May 2022. This is about a suspected false statement by Scheuer in the toll investigation committee. According to a report by
manager magazin,
a decision could be made in the investigation in the coming weeks
. Judicial circles said an indictment against Scheuer was more likely than a discontinuation of the proceedings, as
manager magazin
reported on Thursday (April 4). The Berlin public prosecutor's office interviewed important witnesses last week, some from the Ministry of Transport.
The contradictions in the witness statements in the final report on the toll investigation committee are explosive: According to his own statements, Eventim boss Klaus-Peterschulenberg made the offer to the Ministry of Transport in 2018 that the “federal government could wait until after the ECJ ruling before commissioning”. This emerges fromschulenberg's witness statement in the final report. According toschulenberg, the federal government rejected this. Andreas Scheuer stated before the committee that there was no such offer.
False statement in focus: Former Transport Minister Scheuer faces up to five years in prison
If Scheuer were found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison. Even if he admitted making a false statement, a fine or a short suspended sentence would be possible. Proceedings of this type are often discontinued upon payment of a fine. But the possible false statement by the former transport minister may be too serious to stop the proceedings against the payment of a fine, said
manager magazin,
citing judicial circles. A few days ago, the CSU politician announced that he would be resigning from his Bundestag mandate early on April 1st. The reasons for this were initially unclear. Scheuer himself initially did not comment on the decision.