German ex-minister Scheuer to stand trial over alleged false testimony in car toll debacle
A Berlin court has admitted charges against former German transport minister Andreas Scheuer for allegedly lying to a parliamentary inquiry into the failed car toll project, a prestige scheme that cost the state €243 million.
Former German Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) must answer charges of making a false statement before a parliamentary committee, after the Berlin Regional Court admitted the indictment. The case stems from the collapse of the passenger car toll — a flagship CSU project in the then grand coalition — which was ruled unlawful by the European Court of Justice in June 2019.
The charges
Berlin prosecutors accuse the 51-year-old of lying to the Bundestag’s toll inquiry committee. Also charged is former state secretary Gerhard Schulz. According to the indictment, both men made “knowingly false statements” when asked whether the toll operators had offered, at a meeting on 29 November 2018, to postpone signing the contracts until after the ECJ ruling. The prosecution states that both claimed, “contrary to their actual recollection, that they could not remember such a postponement offer.”
Contrary to their actual recollection, they stated that they could not remember such a postponement offer.
The defendants’ response
Scheuer rejects the allegation. His lawyer Daniel Krause said in August, when the indictment became known, that his client “vigorously opposes” the charge. Former state secretary Schulz also denies the accusation, according to consistent statements from both the defence and the prosecution.
My client vigorously opposes the charge.
The toll debacle timeline
The passenger car toll was stopped by the ECJ in June 2019 as illegal. A parliamentary inquiry committee began its work in December 2019 and concluded in summer 2021. The main criticism was that Scheuer had signed operator contracts for the toll as early as the end of 2018, before final legal certainty existed at the ECJ. The German state later had to pay €243 million in damages to the intended operators following an arbitration settlement.
- Meeting where operators allegedly offered to postpone contract signing until after ECJ ruling
- Scheuer signs operator contracts before final ECJ legal certainty
- European Court of Justice rules passenger car toll unlawful
- Parliamentary inquiry committee begins its work
- Inquiry committee concludes its investigation
- Prosecutors open investigation against Scheuer and Schulz for suspected false testimony
- Scheuer resigns his Bundestag mandate
- Berlin Regional Court admits indictment; trial pending
What happens next
When the trial before the commercial crimes chamber will begin remains open. The court is still in discussions with the parties involved, according to a court spokeswoman. Scheuer resigned his Bundestag mandate in April 2024 and has since founded a consultancy firm.
