In a Berlin courtroom, former German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer now answers for decisions made in a more confident era — when a highway toll scheme seemed politically clever and legally manageable. The European Court of Justice disagreed in 2019, striking down the plan and leaving taxpayers with a €243 million bill after contracts had already been signed with private operators. Scheuer and a former state secretary stand accused not merely of poor governance, but of lying to parliament about what they knew and when they knew it — a distinction that separates political failure from crimi
Scheuer perjury trial opens as Germany's auto sector faces crisis
A toll scheme that cost taxpayers €243 million in damages
Mark
So Scheuer signed contracts knowing the EU would reject the whole thing—is that what the prosecution is saying?
Mimi
That's the core claim, yes. They say he and Schulz lied to parliament about having signed those contracts while knowing the court would likely strike down the scheme. Both men deny it.
Luke
But "knowing" is the tricky word here. Did they have certainty, or just suspicion? The source says the court ruled it illegal in 2019, but when exactly did they sign the contracts?
Mimi
The source doesn't give us the signing date, which is a real gap. We know the contracts were signed before the 2019 ruling, but not how long before.
Mark
And the €243 million—that's what the government paid out in damages?
Mimi
Yes, to the companies that held those worthless contracts. It's a concrete measure of the cost of the decision.
Luke
Though we should note that's a settlement figure, not necessarily what a court would have awarded. The companies could have sued for more.
Mark
Fair point. What's the actual charge—is it perjury, or lying to parliament?
Mimi
Perjury, technically. They're accused of making false statements to a parliamentary committee investigating the scheme.
Luke
Which raises a question: what exactly did they say to the committee, and what did they say was false? The source doesn't give us their actual testimony.
Mark
So we're missing the specific statements they're accused of lying about?
Luke
Exactly. We know the allegation, but not the words that triggered it.
Mimi
The trial will surface that. For now, what we have is the framework: a failed scheme, a massive bill, and two men in court denying they deceived parliament about it.
Il Polso
- A €243 million settlement paid to private companies holding worthless contracts now forms the financial wound at the center of this trial.
- Prosecutors allege Scheuer and co-defendant Gerhard Schulz told parliament they were unaware the EU would reject the toll scheme — a claim the charges call a deliberate lie.
- Both defendants deny the accusations, setting up a twelve-day courtroom confrontation over the precise moment knowledge becomes culpability.
- The trial unfolds as Germany's broader landscape fractures — automotive giants threatening factory closures, 175,000 workers protesting, and a politically weakened Chancellor Merz absorbing state election defeats.
- A verdict is expected November 25, with conviction carrying a prison sentence of three months to five years — transforming what was once a policy embarrassment into a potential personal reckoning.
In a Berlin courtroom, former German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer now answers for decisions made in a more confident era — when a highway toll scheme seemed politically clever and legally manageable. The European Court of Justice disagreed in 2019, striking down the plan and leaving taxpayers with a €243 million bill after contracts had already been signed with private operators. Scheuer and a former state secretary stand accused not merely of poor governance, but of lying to parliament about what they knew and when they knew it — a distinction that separates political failure from criminal deception.
Andreas Scheuer walked into Berlin District Court on Monday to face perjury charges rooted in a highway toll scheme that collapsed seven years ago and cost German taxpayers €243 million. The plan, designed by Scheuer's Christian Social Union, would have charged all drivers on German highways while compensating domestic motorists through reduced vehicle registration taxes — a structure meant to generate revenue without burdening German citizens. The European Court of Justice ruled it illegal in 2019.
The deeper problem was timing. Before the court issued its ruling, Scheuer's ministry had already signed binding contracts with private operators hired to run the system. When the scheme was struck down, those companies sued — and Germany settled for €243 million. That money, critics note, was lost at a moment when the country can ill afford waste.
Scheuer now stands trial alongside Gerhard Schulz, a former state secretary in the same ministry. Prosecutors allege both men made false statements to a parliamentary committee, claiming ignorance of the EU's likely rejection while allegedly knowing the scheme was legally doomed when they signed the contracts. Both deny the charges. The trial runs twelve days, with a verdict expected November 25 — and a conviction could mean between three months and five years in prison.
The case arrives as Germany strains under compounding pressures. Chancellor Merz's Christian Democrats have suffered bruising state election losses. The automotive sector — a cornerstone of German prosperity — is convulsing, with Mercedes-Benz warning of possible factory closures and Volkswagen planning to cut 100,000 jobs. On the same day the trial began, roughly 175,000 auto workers protested at 280 sites across the country. Against that turbulent backdrop, the Scheuer trial asks a quieter but pointed question: when does a minister's bad judgment become something the law must call a crime?
Andreas Scheuer, who served as Germany's Transport Minister until recently, walked into the Berlin District Court on Monday to face trial on perjury charges. The case centers on a highway toll scheme that collapsed seven years ago—a plan that ultimately cost German taxpayers €243 million in damages and now threatens Scheuer with potential prison time.
The scheme itself was straightforward in concept but legally fraught in execution. Scheuer's Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats, had designed a toll system that would charge all drivers using German highways but then compensate German motorists by reducing their annual vehicle registration taxes. The idea was to generate revenue while appearing neutral to domestic drivers. But the European Court of Justice saw it differently. In 2019, the court ruled the scheme violated EU law and struck it down entirely.
The problem was timing. By the time the court issued its decision, Scheuer's Transport Ministry had already signed binding contracts with private companies hired to operate the toll system. Those companies, now holding worthless agreements, sued for compensation. Germany settled, writing a check for €243 million—money that might have gone elsewhere in a country now struggling with economic stagnation and an automotive industry in crisis.
Now Scheuer faces charges alongside Gerhard Schulz, a former state secretary in the same ministry. Prosecutors allege both men lied to a parliamentary committee investigating the toll debacle. Specifically, they are accused of making false statements about having signed those contracts while knowing the European Court of Justice would likely reject the entire scheme as illegal. Both men deny the charges. The trial is scheduled to run for twelve days, with a verdict expected on November 25. If convicted, either defendant could face between three months and five years in prison.
The trial arrives as Germany's political and economic landscape tilts beneath its leaders. Chancellor Merz's Christian Democrats suffered heavy defeats in recent state elections, leaving him politically weakened. Simultaneously, the country's automotive sector—long a pillar of German prosperity and employment—is convulsing. Mercedes-Benz warned Monday that it may close two German factories if cost-cutting efforts fail. Volkswagen plans to eliminate 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade. On Monday alone, around 175,000 automotive workers protested at 280 locations across the country, demanding government action and corporate accountability.
Against this backdrop of industrial crisis and political instability, the Scheuer trial represents something narrower but symbolically significant: a reckoning with decisions made in better times, when a transport minister could sign away hundreds of millions of euros and face only parliamentary scrutiny. The verdict in late November will say whether those decisions crossed the line from mere bad judgment into criminal deception.
Citazioni salienti
Companies like VW, BMW, Audi, Bosch, Mercedes and Porsche were synonymous with fantastic cars and high quality. Now, management is driving the industry at full throttle into a brick wall.— Christiane Benner, chairwoman of IG Metall union, speaking at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg factory
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