More than eight in ten Dutch respondents support keeping the Benelux toll-free, according to a new survey by Dutch motoring organization ANWB.
With Flanders preparing to introduce a digital road vignette in May 2027, 34% say they would look for alternative routes, while 22% expect to visit Belgium by car less often. Yet the Netherlands already charges motorists for using certain roads and has introduced its own nationwide kilometer-based toll for trucks.
Flanders has announced a digital road vignette, set to become compulsory on 1 May 2027, pending final parliamentary approval. The vignette will apply to Belgian and foreign-registered cars, vans, and motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes on regional roads and motorways.
For cars meeting Euro 4 or higher emissions standards, the vignette will cost €9 for one day, €12 for ten days, €19 for one month, €30 for two months, and €100 for one year.
Zero-emission cars cost €8.10 per day, €10.80 per ten days, and €90 per year. Older Euro 0–3 cars will pay €11.25, €15, and €125, respectively, for those same periods.
Contradiction
Flanders intends to compensate domestic motorists by adjusting annual vehicle taxation, aiming for overall budget neutrality for the Flemish vehicle fleet rather than a guaranteed individual refund. The government argues that the proposal respects the EU principle of non-discrimination.
The Dutch ANWB recently launched a survey to gauge Dutch opinion on Belgium’s introduction of a road toll. The survey highlights a contradiction at the heart of the Benelux mobility debate:
The Netherlands wants to keep motoring toll-free across the Benelux, while Belgium plans to charge Dutch motorists, among others, from May 2027. Yet the Netherlands has already introduced its own nationwide kilometer-based toll for trucks.
Belgian road vignette
For Dutch motorists, the vignette will have several consequences depending on how often they cross the border. Someone making an occasional day trip to Antwerp or Hasselt would pay €9.
A Dutch family traveling through Belgium to France and returning within ten days could pay €12 in total. A Dutch resident commuting regularly to Belgium could pay €100 annually.
Considerable resistance
The survey revealed considerable resistance among Dutch motorists to paying for Belgian roads: 66% of respondents in the ANWB survey reject €100 as an acceptable annual charge, while only 15% consider it acceptable. However, this does not prove that introducing a vignette would reduce cross-border traffic by a comparable amount.
The survey also revealed other interesting figures: 82% of respondents to a question about toll-free travel support keeping the Benelux toll-free, 34% say they would look for alternative routes, and 22% expect to visit Belgium less often by car. Still, 37% expect no change in how often they travel.
These are stated intentions rather than predictions of actual behavior. The survey questions also involved different groups of respondents.
‘Unacceptable’
The Dutch government has formally criticized the Belgian proposal. Infrastructure Minister Vincent Karremans described the vignette as an additional financial burden for Dutch motorists.
But why should tolls for Belgian roads be considered unacceptable in principle when the Netherlands already operates toll roads and charges Belgian drivers to use them?
There is a legitimate distinction, though. Dutch passenger-car tolls currently concern specific new infrastructure projects, with untolled alternatives available, whereas Belgium plans a much broader road-network vignette. The Dutch nationwide kilometer-based charge, introduced in July 2026, applies to trucks, not passenger cars.
What does Belgium expect to earn?
The Flemish government has budgeted about €130 million in additional annual revenue, mainly from foreign road users. This figure is a full-year estimate, not just a calculation of Dutch motorists’ contribution.
