EU is Making it Easier to Recover Unpaid Road Tolls - Council Agrees its Stance

EU countries want to make it easier to trace owners of foreign vehicles that fail to pay road tolls by granting each other access to national vehicle registration data. The Council today adopted a general approach on updated electronic road tolling rules which include a legal basis for such information sharing. The possible administrative or legal consequences will depend on the national law of the country where the failure to pay a road fee took place.

The draft directive will also improve the interoperability of electronic tolling systems across Europe by removing administrative barriers, such as local technical specifications, and by giving electronic tolling providers easier access to the toll collection market. The aim is that road users could travel across the EU and pay their electronic tolls with one on-board unit, one contract and one invoice.

"These new rules on electronic road tolls will ensure that all road users pay their tolls, wherever they are in the EU. And increased interoperability between different tolling systems will make for better mobility throughout the EU."

Ivaylo Moskovski, Bulgarian Minister for Transport, Information Technology and Communications

In its general approach, the Council has strengthened and clarified the provisions on data protection.