The Diputación General de Guipuzcoa has announced that it will keep tolls on lorries on the N1 and A-15 national highways that cross the region, despite the fact that the High Court of the Basque Country has declared them illegal.
"The charge will not change as a result of this decision," the deputy responsible for road infrastructure in Guipuzcoa, Aintzane Oiarbide, told local press. The same source expressed his "complete disagreement" with the court's decision and "announced that the legal services of the provincial institution are already working on the appeal to be submitted to the Supreme Court." Aintzane Oiarbide added that before proceeding with the introduction of the toll system, the local government conducted a "thorough study" to ensure the legality of the collection. Furthermore, it stresses that the project was sent by the Diputación General to the European Commission and that this body "gave legal guarantee, both from the point of view of its implementation and the rates established".
The tolls for heavy vehicles "have had the political support, without opposition, of the formations present in the General Councils of Guipúzcoa, which, without votes against, supported the provincial law that regulates the system," according to Oiarbide.
Heavy duty tolls were implemented earlier this year.