Samenvatting European
Union Law – Alle
webcasts EUR
Inhoudsopgave & onderwerpen:
Week 1
Belangrijke begrippen met uitleg
Prohibition of Cartels/EU Competition law
The Prohibition of an Abuse of a Dominant Position
Week 2
Positive Integration and Harmonisation
EU State Aid Law
Free Movement of Goods & Internal Market
Week 3
Union Citizenship
Free Movement of Workers
Freedom of Establishment of Natural Persons/ Self-
employment
Week 4
Free Movement of Services
Free Movement of Legal Persons
Free Movement of Capital
, Europees recht/European Union Law
Belangrijke begrippen met uitleg
Exception
- That whatever falls under it is located outside the scope of EU
law
- Article 45, paragraph 4 of the TFEU
- ‘’EU free movement rules shall not apply to employment in the
public service’.
- No proportionality test
Exemption
- If exempted, the measure is no violation of EU internal market
law.
Justification
- If permitted for justification, a measure must meet the
requirements of the proportionality test.
- Only after the objective is declared admissible for justification by
EU law, we can continue with the proportionality test.
- Admissible for justification:
1. Explicit justification grounds – Article 36 TFEU
2. Mandatory requirements (implied justifications) – Unwritten
justification grounds that a Member State can also rely on
under special conditions
Proportionality
- Something must be proportionate in relation to something else
- This benchmark is EU law – A fundamental freedom or a
prohibition of discriminations
- Measure under scrutiny
- Fundamental freedom guaranteed by the EU vs. Measure by the
Member State
- Question: Proportionate or not?
- Three step proportionality test:
1. Is the measure suitable to achieve the objective it invokes?
2. Is the measure necessary to attain this objective?
3. Does even the least restrictive measure not excessively interfere
with the EU free movement rights? Proportionality stricto sensu.
– Proportionality stricto sensu: in order to justify a limitation on a
constitutional right, a proper relation should exist between the
benefits gained by fulfilling the purpose and the harm caused to the
constitutional right from obtaining that purpose.
, Discrimination
- An unequal treatment of comparable situations for a specific
reason
- Prohibition of discriminations
- Equal treatment
Direct discrimination
- By simply reading the wording of the measure under scrutiny
- We would find the very origin of a product back in the wording of
the measure that we look at
Indirect discrimination
- If the measure we are looking at does not literally use the origin
- At first sight it does not distinguish according to the origin of a
product
- Yet, in real life it has eventually the same effect as the measure
required to make a distinction based on the origin of a product
Objective differentiation
- Two situations that are treated differently remain different even if
we exclude all forbidden grounds as possible elements that can
define these situations as being different
Non- discriminatory restriction
- If a measure does not treat two comparable situations differently
neither directly in its wording nor directly by affecting one
situation less favourable than the other
- Example: closed on Sundays (not possible to sell goods on
Sundays. This is the case for domestic products and for foreign
products. Its non-discriminatory, but still a restriction).
, Law of the European Union
Topic: Prohibition of Cartels/EU Competition Law
Notion of Undertaking
CJEU (functional approach): Any single economic entity
engaged in economic activities irrespective of its legal status
and regardless the way in which it is financed (Case C-41/90,
Höfner and Elser)
1. Single economic entity
a. Irrespective of its legal status
- Natural persons (freelance professionals)
- Liberal Professions (medical specialists, lawyers (Case C-
309/99, Wouters)
- State or state entity
b. Regardless the way in which it is financed
2. Economic activity
- ‘Any activity of offering goods and services on a given
market’
- Not the same as exercising public law authority: An
activity, which necessarily has to be provided by the State.
Note: The nature of the activity matters as distinct from the
nature of the body performing the activity
- The final consumer will never constitute an undertaking
(purchasing goods)
Prohibition of Cartels – Article 101 TFEU
Structure of Article 101 TFEU
- Article 101(1) TFEU: Scope of applications and conditions
establishing a cartel
- Article 101(2) TFEU: legal consequence
- Article 101(3) TFEU: exemptions
Criteria:
1. Are the actors undertakings?
2. Is the actors’ conduct covered by Article 101(1) TFEU?
3. Is the actors’ conduct collusive?
4. Is the collusive conduct affect trade between Member
States in an appreciable manner?
5. Does the collusive conduct fall within an exception to the
scope of Article 101(1) TFEU?
Union Law – Alle
webcasts EUR
Inhoudsopgave & onderwerpen:
Week 1
Belangrijke begrippen met uitleg
Prohibition of Cartels/EU Competition law
The Prohibition of an Abuse of a Dominant Position
Week 2
Positive Integration and Harmonisation
EU State Aid Law
Free Movement of Goods & Internal Market
Week 3
Union Citizenship
Free Movement of Workers
Freedom of Establishment of Natural Persons/ Self-
employment
Week 4
Free Movement of Services
Free Movement of Legal Persons
Free Movement of Capital
, Europees recht/European Union Law
Belangrijke begrippen met uitleg
Exception
- That whatever falls under it is located outside the scope of EU
law
- Article 45, paragraph 4 of the TFEU
- ‘’EU free movement rules shall not apply to employment in the
public service’.
- No proportionality test
Exemption
- If exempted, the measure is no violation of EU internal market
law.
Justification
- If permitted for justification, a measure must meet the
requirements of the proportionality test.
- Only after the objective is declared admissible for justification by
EU law, we can continue with the proportionality test.
- Admissible for justification:
1. Explicit justification grounds – Article 36 TFEU
2. Mandatory requirements (implied justifications) – Unwritten
justification grounds that a Member State can also rely on
under special conditions
Proportionality
- Something must be proportionate in relation to something else
- This benchmark is EU law – A fundamental freedom or a
prohibition of discriminations
- Measure under scrutiny
- Fundamental freedom guaranteed by the EU vs. Measure by the
Member State
- Question: Proportionate or not?
- Three step proportionality test:
1. Is the measure suitable to achieve the objective it invokes?
2. Is the measure necessary to attain this objective?
3. Does even the least restrictive measure not excessively interfere
with the EU free movement rights? Proportionality stricto sensu.
– Proportionality stricto sensu: in order to justify a limitation on a
constitutional right, a proper relation should exist between the
benefits gained by fulfilling the purpose and the harm caused to the
constitutional right from obtaining that purpose.
, Discrimination
- An unequal treatment of comparable situations for a specific
reason
- Prohibition of discriminations
- Equal treatment
Direct discrimination
- By simply reading the wording of the measure under scrutiny
- We would find the very origin of a product back in the wording of
the measure that we look at
Indirect discrimination
- If the measure we are looking at does not literally use the origin
- At first sight it does not distinguish according to the origin of a
product
- Yet, in real life it has eventually the same effect as the measure
required to make a distinction based on the origin of a product
Objective differentiation
- Two situations that are treated differently remain different even if
we exclude all forbidden grounds as possible elements that can
define these situations as being different
Non- discriminatory restriction
- If a measure does not treat two comparable situations differently
neither directly in its wording nor directly by affecting one
situation less favourable than the other
- Example: closed on Sundays (not possible to sell goods on
Sundays. This is the case for domestic products and for foreign
products. Its non-discriminatory, but still a restriction).
, Law of the European Union
Topic: Prohibition of Cartels/EU Competition Law
Notion of Undertaking
CJEU (functional approach): Any single economic entity
engaged in economic activities irrespective of its legal status
and regardless the way in which it is financed (Case C-41/90,
Höfner and Elser)
1. Single economic entity
a. Irrespective of its legal status
- Natural persons (freelance professionals)
- Liberal Professions (medical specialists, lawyers (Case C-
309/99, Wouters)
- State or state entity
b. Regardless the way in which it is financed
2. Economic activity
- ‘Any activity of offering goods and services on a given
market’
- Not the same as exercising public law authority: An
activity, which necessarily has to be provided by the State.
Note: The nature of the activity matters as distinct from the
nature of the body performing the activity
- The final consumer will never constitute an undertaking
(purchasing goods)
Prohibition of Cartels – Article 101 TFEU
Structure of Article 101 TFEU
- Article 101(1) TFEU: Scope of applications and conditions
establishing a cartel
- Article 101(2) TFEU: legal consequence
- Article 101(3) TFEU: exemptions
Criteria:
1. Are the actors undertakings?
2. Is the actors’ conduct covered by Article 101(1) TFEU?
3. Is the actors’ conduct collusive?
4. Is the collusive conduct affect trade between Member
States in an appreciable manner?
5. Does the collusive conduct fall within an exception to the
scope of Article 101(1) TFEU?
