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Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“His people in the ministry obviously always suggested: Yes, it will be fine, it will be fine.
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport
“Confirmation and relief: we were always sure of our cause.”
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“This is nothing to excuse the minister. On the contrary. He took this risk of a power calculation.”
March 2018: Andreas Scheuer becomes the new Transport Minister and takes over the car toll for the prestigious CSU project. The idea: a cartoon for German motorways that only burdens foreigners financially. Two and a half years later, the project is dead, hundreds of millions of euros in damages from taxpayers’ money are threatened, and a commission of inquiry goes to work. How did it come to this and what role did Andreas Scheuer play in it?
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“Andreas Scheuer was very motivated. He actually had fun with the transport policy. The only thing was: he had just received this requirement from Munich, from the party, that he would have to implement the toll in 2020. Now you could have said yes.” : Why not also in 2021? But you have to know that 2021 is an election year, and he received an order from Munich from his party not to introduce it in the election year, because with such an introduction many things can go wrong and then it is perhaps the voters are not satisfied and no longer vote for the CSU. “
For the introduction to be successful in 2020, contracts with the operators must be signed in 2018. The problem: Austria had filed a lawsuit against the toll before the European Court of Justice because it preferred the Germans. Andreas Scheuer pushed the project anyway.
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – January 1, 2019
“We were still working hard shortly before the turn of the year. On December 30, we were able to sign the contract for the car toll for Germany. So one thing is for sure: the car toll will come to October 2020.”
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“At the time, he didn’t seem to be particularly nervous to us, although of course he took a very, very high risk at the time. Because: At the time the Court of Justice of the European Union classifies the toll as against the European law, horrible costs are owed. Because the contract was designed in such a way that the operator, the consortium of operators can claim the lost profits and the costs incurred up to then from the German taxpayer. And that’s the 560 million, as we learned later . It was definitely the risk of signing the toll contract before the verdict was too high. At the time, I think, it was overwhelming. It was very clear that I had exceeded a limit. The contract had flaws in terms of the public procurement law, the Budget law broke. These are all the things that the Federal Audit Office later set up. And, yes, in the reassessment process, it did something politicians shouldn’t do. l. Supposedly he lied to the Bundestag. “
For now, however, everything is going according to plan for Scheuer. In February 2019, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Communities gave a statement to the German side.
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – February 6, 2019
“Confirmation and redress: We were always sure of our case. What now? The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Communities has given us the right to tax on infrastructure, also known as vehicle tolls. The Advocate General clearly confirms our legal opinion: There is no discrimination Reasons for nationality, and the toll is in accordance with European law “.
Four months later. The verdict falls: the toll violates European law.
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – June 18, 2019
“A surprising verdict. Yes, it is regrettable. From a political and politically evaluated point of view, the car toll in this form is sadly off the table.”
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“You must realize that that was actually the core project that the CSU had asked of him as Federal Minister of Transportation. And this project had vanished into thin air at that time. So, you can clearly see that he’s shocked. He was firmly convinced. that the judges would agree with him. He had invited days in advance, he was there in Munich, then he rented a room at the airport and wanted to give this press release. Yes, and then this trial, this trial came half an hour before negative. Yes, and he struggled to maintain his composure. “
The question is whether it was even necessary to sign the toll contracts before sentencing. Apparently, the operators had offered Scheuer to wait, but he wanted to introduce the toll in 2020. Scheuer contradicts before the Bundestag: there was never such an offer from the operator. Did the minister lie? Before the extraordinary meeting of the transport commission, the minister had announced full transparency in a video clip.
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – July 24, 2019
“Yes, I know there are a lot of questions. We already have more than 200 questions from the parliamentarians, who answers. And now we are going to the special session with 21 folders, quite densely packed, we will push this transparency even more, because it is me that is important to parliamentarians can work very well and have questions answered well. “
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“But we knew very quickly that it was not all the files, and that has been confirmed dramatically. We now know that the crucial communication was through private email accounts, through the Bundestag email account. There were three secret meetings with the operational consortium. And they weren’t discussed at all. So in this sense, what he’s done is actually a lot of eyewashing. “
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – October 16, 2019
“We weighed and came to the conclusion that we have to conclude the two contracts in 2018, and in this process, which went through hundreds of work groups and workshops, with the Federal Authority for Automotive Transport, with the Federal Office for the Transport of Goods. , among many others, who join as external consultants. Well, it is not a single decision, for political reasons ”.
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“I think the files and the statements and minutes about these secret conversations make it quite clear that something went terribly wrong. That the public procurement law, budget law was violated. And the accusation that he has lied to Parliament, I consider it extremely difficult to refute. “
And the economic consequences? An arbitration court is currently clarifying whether operators are entitled to compensation. Scheuer’s position:
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport – December 19, 2019
“We have always found that we see the number zero in company complaints. The number zero because we terminate for good reasons. The good reasons are that contractual services have not been fulfilled, that contractual milestones have been broken and that after termination of the contracts was acted intentionally and in bad faith and therefore the contracts were also violated “.
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“This is a protection claim. There were problems, in fact, with the implementation after the operators started working. But that was the case, that one could have cured that, that one could have reworked. Only that moment came then. the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and then he resigned. And then he did the same: not because of the ruling, but because you did a bad job. “
Whether or not the investigation committee convicted Andreas Scheuer for the false statement about the car toll: what started as a prestigious project ended in a disastrous collapse, for which he bears political responsibility.
Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL
“I think he has given too much to his administration, his ministry, especially Secretary of State Gerhard Schulz, who is also an intern.” Maut ”he called. And I don’t think he really asked. It has not been explained correctly: What if I now meet these toll operators in secret? I can do that? How does that relate to public procurement law? This is nothing to excuse the minister. On the contrary. Actually it should have been enlightened. You should have had a bureaucracy warning you not to do that. And did not do it. And that was his biggest mistake. “
