The Green Paper towards Fair and Efficient Pricing in Transport and the recent White Paper Fair Payment for Use have set the standards for future common European transport policy. Pricing and fiscal measures promote the internalisation of externalities and improve possibilities for active traffic management. On top of that the introduction of the EURO increases the relevance of harmonisation of transport policy among member states. However, at the moment transport policy is mainly a matter of the individual member states. This paper discusses a comparative study the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works and NEI have done to find out what pricing and fiscal policies are and will be implemented and, in particular, what backgrounds and political justifications the different member states apply. Moreover, the paper provides insight into the major gaps between member states' transport policies that need to be bridged in the process of harmonisation. Through literature reviews, interviews and country expert essays, the study provides an overview of applied pricing and fiscal measures in passenger transport and their (expected) effects on travel behaviour. However, the paper first and foremost discusses the backgrounds and cited justifications for the applied measures. Decrease in environmental pressure or congestion and infrastructure finance are important arguments for the applied types of measures and the taxation levels. On the other hand, increased competition in the transport sector between member states also plays an important role.
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