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The former Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has rejected allegations of joint responsibility for the failure of the car toll.
On Friday night, Dobrindt referred as a witness in the Bundestag investigation committee to a compromise reached with the EU Commission on the German car toll model at the end of 2016.
Dobrindt said that the commission “gave a stamp” for conformity with European law.
The toll could thus be implemented.
The opposition, however, sees Dobrindt's joint responsibility for the failure of the car toll.
Looking at his successor in office Andreas Scheuer (CSU), Dobrindt said that during his time as Federal Minister he had political responsibility.
Each minister is responsible for his own decision.
Scheuer's role is at the center of the process of coming to terms with the failed toll; the opposition accuses him of making serious mistakes at the expense of taxpayers.
Dobrindt said the ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that "wiped the toll off the table" surprised him very much.
In the summer of 2019, the ECJ declared the German car toll to be contrary to European law - it was discriminatory for car owners from other EU countries.
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The ECJ ruling related to the model for which Dobrindt, as Transport Minister, had received the green light from the EU Commission at the end of 2016.
The car toll was included in the black-red coalition agreement of 2013 at the insistence of the CSU.
Dobrindt was Transport Minister from 2013 to 2017 and has been CSU regional group leader since then.
The chairmen of the FDP, the Greens and the Left in the committee had previously stated that under Dobrindt's leadership, the toll laws had been brought by the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
Contrary to many legal opinions, the toll laws have been declared as legally compliant.
Green chairman Oliver Krischer said that Dobrindt had threaded the car toll and set the basic course that would have subsequently led to a “legal total loss” before the European Court of Justice.