Free Movement of Goods
Preliminary Treaty Foundations:
Article 30 TFEU – Prohibiting Customs Duties:
Customs duties on imports and exports and charges having equivalent effect shall be
prohibited between MS. This prohibition shall also apply to customs duties of a fiscal
nature.
Article 110 TFEU – Prohibiting Discriminatory Taxation:
No MS shall impose, directly or indirectly, on the products of other MS any internal
taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar
domestic products.
Furthermore, no MS shall impose on the products of other MS any internal taxation
of such a nature as to afford indirect protection to other products.
1. Treaty Foundation:
Article 34 TFEU:
Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect
shall be prohibited between MS.
2. What is the measure?
“Quantitative Restriction”:
C-2/73 Geddo v Ente Nationale Risi – “any measures which amount to a total
or partial restraint on imports or exports or goods in transit.”
“Measure having equivalent effect” (MEQR):
C-8/74 Dassonville – “All trading rules enacted by Member States which are
capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-
Community trade are to be considered as measures having an effect
equivalent to quantitative restrictions.”
Borrowed from competition law.
A MS creates trouble for a trader in the name of a certain provision,
that is why it is a MEQR.
Looks very wide – seems to include anything that makes bringing
products from one MS to another MS more difficult.
Only thing we are told is that what makes a measure of equivalent
effect is that it is capable of hindering.
What “hindering” means is not explained in any way –
adverbs only make sense if we know what hindering is.
3. Distinctly or Indistinctly Applicable?
Distinctly Applicable Measure = discriminatory in law and in fact.
C-8/74 Dassonville –
Claimant imported Scotch whisky into Belgium from France. Under
Belgian legislation, the whisky had to have a certificate of
authenticity issued to the importer by the UK customs authorities.
Because C had not imported the whisky directly from the UK, it
would have been extremely difficult for him to have obtained the
certificate, so he sold the whisky without it.
A criminal prosecution ensued, and he claimed that Community law
gave him a defence.
Distinctly applicable – singles out products that have a foreign
protected designation of origin.
Indistinctly Applicable Measure = not discriminatory in law but may be in fact.
C-120/78 Cassis de Dijon –
Cassis de Dijon was a fruit liqueur produced in France. In Germany,
there was a law that such liqueurs had to have a minimum alcohol
content of 25%. All German liqueurs had such a minimum alcohol
Preliminary Treaty Foundations:
Article 30 TFEU – Prohibiting Customs Duties:
Customs duties on imports and exports and charges having equivalent effect shall be
prohibited between MS. This prohibition shall also apply to customs duties of a fiscal
nature.
Article 110 TFEU – Prohibiting Discriminatory Taxation:
No MS shall impose, directly or indirectly, on the products of other MS any internal
taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar
domestic products.
Furthermore, no MS shall impose on the products of other MS any internal taxation
of such a nature as to afford indirect protection to other products.
1. Treaty Foundation:
Article 34 TFEU:
Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect
shall be prohibited between MS.
2. What is the measure?
“Quantitative Restriction”:
C-2/73 Geddo v Ente Nationale Risi – “any measures which amount to a total
or partial restraint on imports or exports or goods in transit.”
“Measure having equivalent effect” (MEQR):
C-8/74 Dassonville – “All trading rules enacted by Member States which are
capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-
Community trade are to be considered as measures having an effect
equivalent to quantitative restrictions.”
Borrowed from competition law.
A MS creates trouble for a trader in the name of a certain provision,
that is why it is a MEQR.
Looks very wide – seems to include anything that makes bringing
products from one MS to another MS more difficult.
Only thing we are told is that what makes a measure of equivalent
effect is that it is capable of hindering.
What “hindering” means is not explained in any way –
adverbs only make sense if we know what hindering is.
3. Distinctly or Indistinctly Applicable?
Distinctly Applicable Measure = discriminatory in law and in fact.
C-8/74 Dassonville –
Claimant imported Scotch whisky into Belgium from France. Under
Belgian legislation, the whisky had to have a certificate of
authenticity issued to the importer by the UK customs authorities.
Because C had not imported the whisky directly from the UK, it
would have been extremely difficult for him to have obtained the
certificate, so he sold the whisky without it.
A criminal prosecution ensued, and he claimed that Community law
gave him a defence.
Distinctly applicable – singles out products that have a foreign
protected designation of origin.
Indistinctly Applicable Measure = not discriminatory in law but may be in fact.
C-120/78 Cassis de Dijon –
Cassis de Dijon was a fruit liqueur produced in France. In Germany,
there was a law that such liqueurs had to have a minimum alcohol
content of 25%. All German liqueurs had such a minimum alcohol
