HC3 EU law
Internal Market – Free Movement of Goods
Part I: General overview of free movement of goods in EU Law- Customs Union + Internal Market
Typical exam question:
The Dutch government wants to stop the violence internet game, and they adopt these and these
measures. You're selling those Internet games, so you're not happy. Can you do something?
How to answer the question:
Prohibition: First try to find the prohibition on the free movement of goods
Exception: Then you try to see whether exceptions, in which the Dutch government might
conceivably be able to realize.
Then you need to see whether the facts are going one way or another.
The Internal Market
Art 26(2) TFEU: Internal Market = (geographically) Area without internal frontiers
the 28 Member States are member of the internal market and the territory of the internal market consists
of those 28 Member States. Because of the internal market it is much easier to trade and it is more fun to
live.
Internal market is realized by ‘four freedoms’:
1. Goods (Arts. 30, 34, 110 TFEU) to circulate freedom
2. Persons (Art. 45, 49 TFEU) to move wherever they want
3. Services (Art. 56 TFEU) to be offered without inhibition
4. Capital (Art. 63 TFEU) just to flow wherever the most fertile environment is.
Each of the four freedoms are governed by a similar logic General framework to approach the question
whether a Member State has infringed one of the fundamental freedoms:
- Does a measure affect a fundamental freedom as protected in EU law?
- Is there an exception that justifies the measure?
- Is the measure proportionate to the objectives pursued?
There are two ways to stop goods from another state (these are the two threats to the internal
market):
1) Charges – money (taxes/tariffs). fiscal barriers custom duties and internal taxation. You can
try to stop goods, services and people by asking money each time they cross the border. But this
is easy to solve: a simple provision could stop that. So, it is easy to deal with those kinds of
barriers.
, 2) Physical barriers: regulatory barriers quantitative restrictions / measure having equivalent
effect. Standards for products. Like in this country only plastic toys that carry a warning are legal
in the market. Or there are standards for how to label milk. The products need to be stopped at
the border to check whether it has those kinds of standards. So, this is a serious threat to the
internal market if every state has their own rules. This is much harder to deal with compared with
what is mentioned under 1).
regelgevende belemmeringen kwantitatieve beperkingen / maatregel van gelijke werking. Normen voor
producten. Net als in dit land is alleen plastic speelgoed met een waarschuwing legaal op de markt. Of er zijn
normen voor het etiketteren van melk. De producten moeten aan de grens worden tegengehouden om te
controleren of ze aan dat soort normen voldoen. Dit is dus een ernstige bedreiging voor de interne markt als
elke staat zijn eigen regels heeft. Dit is veel moeilijker om mee om te gaan in vergelijking met wat onder 1)
wordt genoemd.
The internal market is maintained by a double strategy:
- Prohibitions (see above) = ‘negative integration’ iets mag niet, iets is verboden
articulating the prohibition: you must not ask money because a product is crossing the border.
Example: article 34 TFEU: kwantitatieve invoerbeperkingen en alle maatregelen van gelijke
werking zijn tussen de lidstaten verboden. This is a simple prohibition that contains direct effect:
because it is precise, clear and unconditional. Anyone can rely on these rules. In the context of
the internal market the negative integration refers to treaty provisions that prohibit obstacles to
free movement.
articuleren van het verbod: je mag geen geld vragen omdat een product de grens overgaat. Voorbeeld:
artikel 34 VWEU: invoerbeperkingen en alle maatregelen van gelijke werking zijn tussen de verboden. Dit
is een eenvoudig verbod met directe werking: omdat het nauwkeurig, duidelijk en onvoorwaardelijk is.
Iedereen kan op deze regels vertrouwen. In de context van de interne markt verwijst de negatieve
integratie naar verdragsbepalingen die belemmeringen voor vrij verkeer verbieden.
- Harmonization (secondary EU legislation) = ‘positive integration’
to replace 28 different laws by 1 EU-law and if you comply with that law, you won’t be stopped at
the border. So internal market legislation: to deal with differences in national legislation which
would be an obstacle.
Harmonization = a response to the obstacles that would arise if we allowed all those different
laws to co-exist. So, to replace the 28 different laws, it simplifies.
28 verschillende wetten te vervangen door 1 EU-wet en als je je aan die wet houdt, word je niet
tegengehouden aan de grens. Dus internemarktwetgeving: om te gaan met verschillen in nationale
wetgeving die een obstakel zouden zijn.
Harmonisatie = een antwoord op de obstakels die zouden ontstaan als we al die verschillende wetten
naast elkaar zouden laten bestaan. Dus, om de 28 verschillende wetten te vervangen, vereenvoudigt het.
what is a ‘good’?
The internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of
goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaties. (Art.
26(2))
As soon it is a good, there are rights (important because of that)
The term has an autonomous EU meaning (it means the same everywhere)
Internal Market – Free Movement of Goods
Part I: General overview of free movement of goods in EU Law- Customs Union + Internal Market
Typical exam question:
The Dutch government wants to stop the violence internet game, and they adopt these and these
measures. You're selling those Internet games, so you're not happy. Can you do something?
How to answer the question:
Prohibition: First try to find the prohibition on the free movement of goods
Exception: Then you try to see whether exceptions, in which the Dutch government might
conceivably be able to realize.
Then you need to see whether the facts are going one way or another.
The Internal Market
Art 26(2) TFEU: Internal Market = (geographically) Area without internal frontiers
the 28 Member States are member of the internal market and the territory of the internal market consists
of those 28 Member States. Because of the internal market it is much easier to trade and it is more fun to
live.
Internal market is realized by ‘four freedoms’:
1. Goods (Arts. 30, 34, 110 TFEU) to circulate freedom
2. Persons (Art. 45, 49 TFEU) to move wherever they want
3. Services (Art. 56 TFEU) to be offered without inhibition
4. Capital (Art. 63 TFEU) just to flow wherever the most fertile environment is.
Each of the four freedoms are governed by a similar logic General framework to approach the question
whether a Member State has infringed one of the fundamental freedoms:
- Does a measure affect a fundamental freedom as protected in EU law?
- Is there an exception that justifies the measure?
- Is the measure proportionate to the objectives pursued?
There are two ways to stop goods from another state (these are the two threats to the internal
market):
1) Charges – money (taxes/tariffs). fiscal barriers custom duties and internal taxation. You can
try to stop goods, services and people by asking money each time they cross the border. But this
is easy to solve: a simple provision could stop that. So, it is easy to deal with those kinds of
barriers.
, 2) Physical barriers: regulatory barriers quantitative restrictions / measure having equivalent
effect. Standards for products. Like in this country only plastic toys that carry a warning are legal
in the market. Or there are standards for how to label milk. The products need to be stopped at
the border to check whether it has those kinds of standards. So, this is a serious threat to the
internal market if every state has their own rules. This is much harder to deal with compared with
what is mentioned under 1).
regelgevende belemmeringen kwantitatieve beperkingen / maatregel van gelijke werking. Normen voor
producten. Net als in dit land is alleen plastic speelgoed met een waarschuwing legaal op de markt. Of er zijn
normen voor het etiketteren van melk. De producten moeten aan de grens worden tegengehouden om te
controleren of ze aan dat soort normen voldoen. Dit is dus een ernstige bedreiging voor de interne markt als
elke staat zijn eigen regels heeft. Dit is veel moeilijker om mee om te gaan in vergelijking met wat onder 1)
wordt genoemd.
The internal market is maintained by a double strategy:
- Prohibitions (see above) = ‘negative integration’ iets mag niet, iets is verboden
articulating the prohibition: you must not ask money because a product is crossing the border.
Example: article 34 TFEU: kwantitatieve invoerbeperkingen en alle maatregelen van gelijke
werking zijn tussen de lidstaten verboden. This is a simple prohibition that contains direct effect:
because it is precise, clear and unconditional. Anyone can rely on these rules. In the context of
the internal market the negative integration refers to treaty provisions that prohibit obstacles to
free movement.
articuleren van het verbod: je mag geen geld vragen omdat een product de grens overgaat. Voorbeeld:
artikel 34 VWEU: invoerbeperkingen en alle maatregelen van gelijke werking zijn tussen de verboden. Dit
is een eenvoudig verbod met directe werking: omdat het nauwkeurig, duidelijk en onvoorwaardelijk is.
Iedereen kan op deze regels vertrouwen. In de context van de interne markt verwijst de negatieve
integratie naar verdragsbepalingen die belemmeringen voor vrij verkeer verbieden.
- Harmonization (secondary EU legislation) = ‘positive integration’
to replace 28 different laws by 1 EU-law and if you comply with that law, you won’t be stopped at
the border. So internal market legislation: to deal with differences in national legislation which
would be an obstacle.
Harmonization = a response to the obstacles that would arise if we allowed all those different
laws to co-exist. So, to replace the 28 different laws, it simplifies.
28 verschillende wetten te vervangen door 1 EU-wet en als je je aan die wet houdt, word je niet
tegengehouden aan de grens. Dus internemarktwetgeving: om te gaan met verschillen in nationale
wetgeving die een obstakel zouden zijn.
Harmonisatie = een antwoord op de obstakels die zouden ontstaan als we al die verschillende wetten
naast elkaar zouden laten bestaan. Dus, om de 28 verschillende wetten te vervangen, vereenvoudigt het.
what is a ‘good’?
The internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of
goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaties. (Art.
26(2))
As soon it is a good, there are rights (important because of that)
The term has an autonomous EU meaning (it means the same everywhere)
