A member of Germany's main opposition Christian Democrats said on Friday said his party may block the release of more government funds for a nation-wide highway toll system for trucks that has been repeatedly delayed.
Albrecht Feibel, a CDU budget expert, said in comments published in Friday's Bild newspaper that the reason for the delays had to be closely examined and, if necessary, funds had to be withheld by parliament's budget committee.
Germany's Transport Ministry has given Toll Collect, a group charged with setting up the system that includes Deutsche Telekom and DaimlerChrysler, until the end of January to commit to a firm launch date.
It had previously threatened to fire the consortium if it did not commit to a date by the end of December.
The ministry on Friday repeated its intention to seek compensation for all or part of the toll revenue lost because of the delays.
The government has already missed out on some 620 million euros ($773 million) since the original September start date. "We expect to get back at least some or all of the cash from the toll system," a ministry spokesman said.
"That is our right according to the contracts we have," he added at a news conference in Berlin.