BERLIN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Germany's cabinet approved plans on Wednesday to introduce highway tolls for trucks from September, delaying the system another month but going ahead despite European Union reservations.
Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe said the revised plans included compensation of up to 300 million euros ($322.8 million) per year for trucking firms who have said their livelihoods are threatened by the new costs.
Germany is the only large continental European country still not charging for its roads. It plans to make heavy goods trucks pay an average 0.15 euros per kilometre on its highway network.
Last September, Germany pushed back the introduction of road tolls by a month to August 2003. Stolpe told a news conference on Wednesday that September was now the start date.
"What has been agreed by the cabinet today is a necessary answer to rising mobility," Stolpe said, citing surveys showing expected rises of goods traffic on the roads by 65 percent in the coming years.
"For the central European crossroads Germany that would be even more, with north-south and east-west traffic combined."
He said the government was now considering cutting fuel tax by up to 300 million for German trucking firms. This would need to be approved by the European Union, although Stolpe said Germany would just be following the examples of France, Italy and the Netherlands in cutting fuel tax for such companies.
However, the plans may not meet with overall approval from the EU. Commissioner for Transport Loyola de Palacio has already said that Germany's planned toll could be too high, particularly if the road construction costs have already been covered.
German and EU officials may hold talks on Friday.
The German transport ministry expects to collect 3.5 billion euros ($3.77 billion) in tolls annually from trucks rolling over German highways using a satellite-based toll system.
Of that, 800 million euros would go to the government, 650 million to operator Toll Collect, with 300 million set aside to compensate trucking companies. The remainder would be spent on road, rail and shipping projects.
The toll, which still needs the approval of the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament, would apply to trucks of 12 tonnes or more and vary according to the exhaust emissions and number of axles.
Toll Collect plans to have 150,000 toll boxes in place by the end of August and 800,000 next year. Deutsche Telekom and DaimlerChrysler are part of the consortium which will have a 12-year licence while former competitor Ages, led by Vodafone , has a minority stake after it lodged a legal complaint.