Resumen
In 2013, next to federal funds and the user financing through trucks the infrastructure in Germany was supposed to be financed through an infrastructure fee for all users of the German federal highway system. However, no car owner in Germany shall be debited greater than without an infrastructure fee. Furthermore, the fee has to be formulated consistent with European rules. Considering the past discussion in Germany and Europe regarding the compatibility of the infrastructure charge with European law, however, reveals the challenges that go beyond a pure welfare economics approach. Knowledge about welfare effects is not sufficient for a country embedded in a multilevel system. Political sciences also plays a non-negligible role. The paper at hand focuses on the complexity of decision making in multilevel systems and suggests ways to handle it with respect to the underlying topic. That is, although decisions regarding infrastructure financing maybe efficient on the national level, they may not be in a multilevel system. This has far reaching consequences on the way infrastructure is financed. The paper is structured as follows: At first the toll as an instrument for infrastructure financing is evaluated from an economic point of view as well as against the background of this paper. Subsequently, the different infrastructure financing systems in the European Union are presented and a problem that arises in such a setting is highlighted. The governance approach is then used in order to analyze possible solutions for the just mentioned challenge. Eventually, a conclusion is drawn.