Austria threatens Germany with legal action over road toll


Austria will take Germany to court if it brings in a charge for foreign motorists on its autobahns. Germany's new coalition government says it is thinking about doing just that. Austrians would be classed as "foreigners" in such a law and the country says this runs counter to EU rules. Austrian Transport minister Doris Bures said: "We will not allow Austrian drivers to be discriminated against. We will proceed with all necessary steps, including an appeal at the European Union Court of Justice." Bures said the German plan was against EU rules as it discriminated against foreigners from other EU member states. The German Christian Social Union (CSU) believes there is a way to charge foreign drivers on German roads by reducing German road tax. A charge would then be introduced on all drivers, but Germans would be paying the same amount as before their road tax was reduced. The planned cost could be 100 Euro per year for foreign drivers.