CSU politician Scheuer appears before Berlin Regional Court over failed car toll

According to the prosecution's conviction, the high costs could have been avoided if the then-federal government had awaited the ECJ decision before entering into binding contracts. The public prosecutor's office views this as a risky course of action that placed a financial burden on the Federation. Scheuer rejects the allegations and emphasizes that political decisions were made lawfully within the scope of his official duties.

Defense disputes the charge

The defense argues that Scheuer acted in a political capacity and that the legal assessment of the economic framework conditions did not lie solely within his responsibility. Nor can any concrete consideration or personal enrichment be proven against him. The question of whether political action falls under criminal law is thus one of the central points of dispute in the proceedings.

Gerhard Schulz testified as a witness in the proceedings. He reported on the procedures within the responsible ministry and the expert assessment of the contractual risks against the backdrop of the pending ECJ case. His testimony was intensively questioned by both sides of the trial in order to clarify the extent to which the risk of a defeat before the ECJ was taken into account in the decision.

Parliamentary inquiry and political context

Proceedings against former minister over failed car toll

A parliamentary inquiry committee of the German Bundestag had already addressed the question from January 2020 onward of whether the high costs could have been avoided – for instance, by awaiting the ECJ decision before entering into binding contracts. The findings also fed into the criminal-law assessment.

According to information available so far, the costs to the Federation amount to a low three-figure million sum, resulting primarily from compensation payments to the operator companies and from planning costs that had already been spent. The trial before the Berlin Regional Court is intended to clarify whether Scheuer can be held personally criminally responsible for these financial consequences.

Outcome of the proceedings remains open

At the time the contracts were concluded, Scheuer was Federal Minister of Transport in the cabinet of the then Grand Coalition. He belongs to the CSU, which is strongly anchored above all in Bavaria. Politically, the toll project was controversial, as it had been agreed in the coalition treaty as a condition for the CSU's entry into the federal government.

The trial is expected to last several months, as a large number of witnesses from the ministry and authorities are to be heard. Observers expect that the question of political responsibility will be answered more clearly than the criminal-law one. A verdict is not expected before early 2027.

The case is regarded as one of the few instances in which a federal minister is standing personally before a court on account of political decisions. The outcome of the proceedings could also have a signaling effect on the question of how far criminal liability for sovereign action within a ministry extends.

Parallel to the criminal proceedings, civil-law disputes between the Federation and the operator companies were conducted. Parts of these proceedings were concluded by settlements whose precise contents are not public. They form part of the financial burden that plays a role in the criminal trial.

On the first day of hearings it became clear that both the prosecution and the defense will place the ECJ outcome at the center. While the public prosecutor's office assesses the course of action as an avoidable risk, the defense sees it as a politically comprehensible decision within the framework of ongoing European proceedings.

There is also keen anticipation of how the court will assess the testimony of further witnesses who are to be heard regarding the decision-making process within the ministry at the time. These include former senior officials as well as external consultants. Their statements could shed light on how the risks were assessed in advance.

image_prompt depicts a scene in the courtroom: a judge at the elevated bench, beside him the prosecution and defense, in the background rows of spectators and a wooden cross on the wall. Light falls through tall windows.

A verdict is expected no earlier than in a few months. Until then, the presumption of innocence applies, defense lawyers and political companions alike emphasized.