Dutch anger at planned Belgian motorway tax

Dutch motorists’ organisation ANWB is angry about Belgium’s plans to introduce a tax for foreign motorway users to raise money for road repairs, reports Dutch News. Everyone with a foreign car planning to drive through Belgium by motorway would have to pay the tax, on a 10-day, two-month or annual basis. The price has not yet been made public but the ANWB says the annual fee could be €100. Belgium plans to use the money raised from the charge to carry out essential repairs to its road network, and if agreed in the Belgian parliament, the charge will be introduced from 2016. The ANWB says the southern Dutch provinces of Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg will be hardest hit. The organisation is “totally opposed to the explosion of toll systems and stickers needed to drive through Europe”. It is also unclear if the plan is compatible with EU legislation, ANWB director Guido van Woerkom told news agency ANP.