Belgium to introduce nationwide light-vehicle vignette in 2027

Following on from the cancellation of the Brussels Smartmove programme - which would have implemented distance based congestion pricing, the three Belgian regions have agreed to establish a nationwide vignette (time-based charge) for light vehicles from 1 July 2027.  

It will cover travel on all motorways, highways and many major roads in all of Belgium, and cover all vehicles with a registered weight of < 3.5 tonnes excluding motorcycles. This includes all EVs, PHEVs and BEHVs, as well as diesel and petrol powered vehicles.

What is a vignette?

Vignettes are an unknown concept outside Europe, and are essentially access passes bought in advance of travel, for use of a road network within a jurisdiction.  Vignettes exist for light vehicles in the following countries in Europe:

• Switzerland
• Austria
• Czechia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Hungary
• Romania
• Bulgaria
• Moldova

Of course you wouldn't know this from the EU's published map of light vehicle charging below which characteristically ignores non-EU Member States, such as Switzerland and Moldova.

Map of light vehicle road charging in the EU

Vignettes are legally what is called a “road user charge” under EU law. They are distinct from both tolls and distance-based charges (which are called tolls under EU law). Confusing? Yes. 

Tolls apply to specific facilities and are charged on actual use. Distance based road user charges are effectively metering for actual use travelled. Vignettes are time-based road user charges, which are sold on the basis of prepaying for access to a network for a set number of days.

Thinking of vignettes as prepaid access charges to a network of roads is perhaps the best explanation. It doesn't matter if you actually use the roads, you buy a "pass" to use them for a set period. It's a more flexible version of the annual vehicle registration or licence fee seen in virtually all jurisdictions.

What will they cost?

Belgium will be selling vignettes for 1 day, 10 days, 1 month, 2 months or 1 year.  This gives users flexibility to pay for a single transit of the country (common for driving from say France to the Netherlands) or for a longer visit. All light vehicles using the road network will be charged, including both Belgian registered and visiting foreign registered vehicles.

The rates for vignettes vary based on duration and the emissions class of the vehicle. A one year vignette will vary from €90 for EVs through to €125 for older higher emitting vehicles.  The charges for shorter periods for an average car (rated EURO IV) show there’s clearly much higher charges for very short periods.

1 day - €9 (EV €8.10)

10 days - €12

1 month - €19

2 months - €30

1 year - €100

Let’s be clear this is not a replacement for fuel tax. Vehicle owners in Flanders and Wallonia will see reform of registration fees, meaning the new vignette will partly be offset by such reductions. It is not clear if the same will happen in Brussels.

A major issue will be whether the European Commission approves of it. When Germany attempted to introduce a light vehicle vignette, it also proposed significant reductions in annual vehicle registration fees to largely offset the charge for German registered vehicle owners.  The European Union Court of Justice ruled that the proposal was discriminatory, because by reducing the fees for German vehicle owners, the burden of the vignette lay mostly on foreign registered vehicles.

It is expected to raise over €450m per annum gross, but around €300m of that would be offset by reduction in other fees. The net revenue will be used for road maintenance and upgrades.

What about fuel tax?

No EU Member State has moved to replace fuel tax. Only Iceland has replaced part of its fuel tax with a distance-based road user charge, but it is not an EU Member State. A key issue in Europe is that the EU Energy Directive requires member states to maintain tax on petroleum at a minimum level of €0.359 per litre (US$1.59 per gallon). 

Any road user charge to replace fuel tax could currently only reduce it down to that level. Malta has its petrol tax at exactly the lowest limit, so it could not reduce it. The Netherlands has the highest petrol tax at  €0.845/l (US$3.74 per gallon), so could conceivably reduce fuel duty by a significant amount in exchange for a distance based road user charge. 

Could vignettes have wider application?

Clearly "yes" if it can be implemented in a way that avoid being overthrown by the European Court of Justice. So Belgium will be a test case.