W4 Art 34 Free Movement of Goods Flashcards
Issues covered so far
Competencies, subsidiarity, proportionality
Judicial challenges and remedies
Direct effect and supremacy
Free movement of goods and quantitative restrictions
Art 34 PBL Structure
- Is there a cross-border element?
- Can our claimant rely on Art 34?
- Is it a good? (i.e. is it detectable with one of the 5 senses)?
- Is it a QR? i.e. numerical limitation on imports
- If not, is it an MEE (measure with equivalent effect)?
- If yes, what is the type/nature of rule? Product, selling, or use?
a. If product, go to justification
b. If the rule is a selling arrangement (as opposed to a product specification):
i. Does it apply equally in law and fact? If yes, then considered non-infringing
ii. If not equal in law and/or fact, then needs a justification
c. If the rule is a use restriction, then apply market access test. If it restricts market access, find justification. If does not restrict market access, then non-infringing. - Acceptable and proportional justification – Article 36 includes acceptable justification (public interest, public health, etc) and there’s also a non-exhaustive list from case law (overriding requirement in the public interest)
a. Identify justification
b. Is it distinctly (discriminates on the face of it) or indistinctly (doesn’t apparently discriminate) applicable?
i. If distinctly applicable, then requires an Art 36 justification.
ii. If indistinct, then justification can be from Art 36 or from case law, i.e. anything that’s a mandatory requirement (i.e. any non-economic general interest of the state, e.g. consumer protection).
c. Is it proportionate to the purpose? Necessary, suitable, and legitimate aim/not excessive.
What are the four fundamental freedoms?
1) Workers
2) Establishment and Services
3) Capital
4) Goods
Is the EU a fiscal union? Why or why not?
It is not a fiscal union. MS retain their own budgets and the EU does not have direct taxation power.
Do the EU treaties provide for an internal or external single market?
Both - the internal dimension prohibits charges and taxations within the bloc and the external dimension establishes a common customs and commercial policy.
Article 3(3) TEU
Establishes the internal market and its goals
Article 26 TFEU
Establishes free movement within the internal market, and the four fundamental freedoms
Article 30 TFEU
Prohibition on Customs Duties and Charges of Equivalent Effect [within the internal market]
Article 110 TFEU
Prohibition of internal discriminatory taxation
Articles 28,29,31,32 TFEU
Common Customs Tariff (external dealings with single market)
Articles 206-207 TFEU
Common Commercial Policy
What is the definition of a good?
Officially: products which can be valued in money and which are capable of forming the subject of commercial transactions” - Commission v Italy
Unofficially: Must be detectable with the senses
What is a customs duty?
A Charge levied on goods by a Member State for the reason that those goods cross a frontier between Member States.
What is a charge having equivalent effect?
Any charge imposed unilaterally on domestic or foreign goods by reason that they cross a border, even if it is not imposed for the benefit of the MS, is not discriminatory or protective or if the product is not in competition with any domestic product.
What are the permitted justifications for customs duties and charges having equivalent effect between MS?
There are none (applicable to goods - there are a few narrow exceptions for services and inspections)
What are the requirements for national taxation under Art 110 TFEU?
National taxes must not discriminate against imported products
National taxes must not afford indirect protection to domestic products
Art 34 TFEU
Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States
What is a quantitative restriction?
A numerical limit (including an outright ban) which affects the import of a product.
What is a measure having equivalent effect?
Any measure enacted by a MS capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade.
Authority: Dassonville
Dassonville
Facts: French company imports whisky from the UK, re-labels it, and exports it to Belgium. Belgian law requires a certificate of origin, the whisky didn’t have one, so were prosecuted under Belgian law. CJEU ruled it was a measure with equivalent effect.
Significance: Defines measures with equivalent effect.