BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has canceled its contracts with the companies charged with setting up a highway toll system for cars, a Transport Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday after the EU's highest court ruled that the plan breached European Union law.
German ticket operator CTS Eventim and Austrian road systems specialist Kapsch TrafficCom were awarded a 2-billion-euro ($2.24 billion) contract in December to operate the toll.
Asked about possible damage for German taxpayers linked to the canceled contracts, the Transport Ministry spokesman said he had no immediate comment.
A CTS Eventim spokesman declined to comment on the cancellation of the contract but said the company stood by its statement on Tuesday that the contracts contained protective provisions that guard against damages for the operating company and its shareholders.
"These also apply in case the infrastructure charge should not be introduced," CTS Eventim had said on Tuesday.
A Kapsch TrafficCom spokesman had no immediate comment on the cancellation.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by Riham Alkousaa and Michelle Martin)
