Germany news: Trial starts of ex-Transport Minister Scheuer
Former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer is being tried for perjury related to a failed car toll scheme. And cherry farmers have brought in a bumper harvest. DW has more.
A perjury trial commenced in Berlin District Court on Monday involving former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and his co-defendant Gerhard Schulz. They are charged with lying to a parliamentary committee concerning a highway toll scheme devised to levy charges on foreign motorists. Both men deny the allegations. The scheme, devised by Scheuer's Christian Social Union (CSU), was deemed illegal by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2019.
Despite this, the CSU had signed contracts with operators to execute the plan, resulting in the German government paying €243 million in damages to the involved companies. The trial, expected to last 12 days, concludes on November 25, with a potential jail sentence ranging from three months to five years if found guilty.
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