Bulc also stressed that the amount of the fee should be based exclusively on the distance driven and should not be time-dependent, which would bolster more efficient use of roads.

William Todts, senior policy officer at sustainable transport group Transport & Environment, greeted the news, saying: ‘EU governments are all faced with similar problems: falling fuel tax revenues, heavy congestion, and stubbornly high transport emissions. Smart, distance-based tolls are the way to tackle these problems head-on, and Europe can play a very useful role in making sure that systems across the continent work together as well as possible. So we'll need some common rules for those countries that want to introduce kilometre-based tolls.

‘The EU should also make it easier to introduce distance-based charging, and avoid putting too many rules and obstacles in the way. It should remove technical barriers and ensure the compatibility of different systems. And it should use its infrastructure funds to help countries overcome the investment barriers they face when they want to start road charging.’

However, the plans have drawn heavy criticism in the UK. The Daily Mail quotes a senior Tory source as saying: ‘There are no plans for road tolls in the UK, whatever this EU bureaucrat might say. It is hard to see any UK driver welcoming this bonkers idea and if they want a referendum on our relationship with the EU they need to vote for a Conservative government.’

Meanwhile Robert Oxley, campaign director at the campaign group Business for Britain, said new road tolls would cripple British motorists.

Oxley said: ‘Motorists and firms already pay enough to use the roads, without EU tolls adding to that burden. It's ludicrous that the EU would even consider hitting hard-pressed drivers with further charges. It appears some in the commission just don't understand that decisions like these should be taken in the UK, not Brussels.’