Chapter 3 Prohibition of Quantitative Restrictions between Member States

Author(s):  
Marcus Klamert ◽  
Maria Moustakali ◽  
Jonathan Tomkin

Chapter 3 of the Title on the free movement of goods is devoted to the prohibition of quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect. The provisions prohibiting quantitative restrictions initially appeared under Articles 30 to 37 EEC. They were renumbered as Articles 28 to 31 EC by the ToA and now appear under Articles 34 to 37 of the TFEU. The substance of the provisions has remained unchanged since their first appearance in the EEC Treaty.

Author(s):  
Timothy Lyons QC

Until the ratification of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the EC Treaty, as it then was, had dealt with the customs union in Articles 9 to 29 which constituted Chapter 1 of Title 1 and was devoted to free movement of goods. Many of the provisions dealt with the staged reduction of duties on imports between Member States and with the procedure by which a common customs tariff was to be established. As the customs union was created on 1 July 1968, by 1997 rationalization of the customs duty provisions in the EC Treaty was clearly long overdue. It was achieved by the Treaty of Amsterdam which ensured that the EC Treaty dealt with the main elements of the customs union in just five articles, Articles 23 to 27. These now appear in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in Articles 28 to 32. Articles 30 to 32 constitute Chapter 1 of Title II on the free movement of goods. Article 30 provides that customs duties on imports and exports, and charges having equivalent effect, are prohibited between Member States together with customs duties of a fiscal nature. Article 31 states that the common customs


Author(s):  
Lorna Woods ◽  
Philippa Watson ◽  
Marios Costa

This chapter examines the creation of the customs union to ensure free movement of goods within the European Union, discusses the relevant provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and considers the prohibition on customs duties and on discriminatory taxation. It explains that the prohibition on discriminatory taxation serves to prevent Member States from circumventing the prohibition on customs duties by discriminating against imports via their internal taxation system. The chapter also highlights criticisms of the Court of Justice’s (CJ) approach to customs duties and measures having an equivalent effect.


2020 ◽  
pp. 90-120
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Homewood

This chapter discusses the law on the free movement of goods in the EU. Free movement of goods is one of the four ‘freedoms’ of the internal market. Obstacles to free movement comprise tariff barriers to trade (customs duties and charges having equivalent effect), non-tariff barriers to trade (quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect), and discriminatory national taxation. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits all kinds of restrictions on trade between Member States. Article 30 (ex Article 25 EC) prohibits customs duties and charges having equivalent effect; Article 34 (ex Article 28 EC) prohibits quantitative restrictions and all measures having equivalent effect; and Article 110 (ex Article 90 EC) prohibits discriminatory national taxation.


Author(s):  
Matthew J. Homewood

This chapter discusses the law on the free movement of goods in the EU. Free movement of goods is one of the four ‘freedoms’ of the internal market. Obstacles to free movement comprise tariff barriers to trade (customs duties and charges having equivalent effect), non-tariff barriers to trade (quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect), and discriminatory national taxation. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits all kinds of restrictions on trade between Member States. Article 30 (ex Article 25 EC) prohibits customs duties and charges having equivalent effect; Article 34 (ex Article 28 EC) prohibits quantitative restrictions and all measures having equivalent effect; and Article 110 (ex Article 90 EC) prohibits discriminatory national taxation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 300-321
Author(s):  
Margot Horspool ◽  
Matthew Humphreys ◽  
Michael Wells-Greco

This chapter introduces the law on the free movement of goods in the EU. It discusses the following: the customs union; the free movement of goods provisions in the TFEU; customs duties and common customs tariffs; charges having equivalent effect to a customs duty, and charges falling within the scope of internal taxation.


2019 ◽  
pp. 251-294
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster

This chapter discusses EU law on the free movement of goods. It covers legislative provisions; progress towards the treaty goals; integration methods; the establishment of the internal market; the prohibition of discriminatory taxation; summary on tariff barriers; quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect; the ban of Article 34 TFEU and derogations of Article 36 TFEU; equally applicable measures (indistinctly applicable measures); and notable cases including Dassonville, Cassis de Dijon, Keck, and Mithouard.


Author(s):  
Lorna Woods ◽  
Philippa Watson ◽  
Marios Costa

This chapter examines the Treaty provisions designed to ensure free movement of goods within the European Union. It discusses prohibitions on quantitative restrictions, and on measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions (MEQR) in Article 34 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular considering the key cases of Dassonville, Cassis de Dijon and Keck. It also outlines the prohibition on quantitative restrictions on exports and all measures having equivalent effect. It analyses the development of the jurisprudence relating to MEQR, and explains the provisions of Articles 35 (exports) and 37 TFEU (state monopolies). The chapter also addresses the underlying questions concerning the relationship between free movement and national regulatory competence.


EU Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 725-782
Author(s):  
Paul Craig ◽  
Gráinne de Búrca

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter considers Articles 34-37 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Article 34 is the central provision and states that: ‘quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States’. Article 35 contains similar provisions relating to exports, while Article 36 provides an exception for certain cases in which a state is allowed to place restrictions on the movement of goods. The European Court of Justice’s interpretation of Articles 34-37 has been important in achieving single market integration. It has given a broad interpretation to the phrase ‘measures having equivalent effect’ to a quantitative restriction (MEQR), and has construed the idea of discrimination broadly to capture both direct and indirect discrimination. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning free movement of goods between the EU and the UK post-Brexit.


2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Connor

This Paper considers the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice in relation to the free movement provisions of European Community law in relation to goods, persons, services and capital within the European Union. It examines the bases used by the Court in its application of Community free movement provisions to national measures that may seek to hinder the exercise of such rights. From limited enquiry originally founded on considerations of non discrimination based on nationality, to one most recently focussed on the ‘restriction’ to the free movement right, the Paper examines the methods employed by the Court of Justice in its scrutiny of the national measure appearing to conflict with Treaty free movement rights.The examination of the applicable free movement jurisprudence attempts to demonstrate the want of a thematically consistent underpinning within free movement case law. The Paper draws attention to the complexities and even the confusions that appear to be inherent within free movement jurisprudence and arguably evidenced within the Court's journey from ‘discrimination’ to ‘restriction’ as the basis of the enquiry with regard to the application of Treaty free movement rights. In its consideration of Case C-110/05Commission v Italy, Case C-142/05Åklagaren v. Percy Mickelsson v. Joakim Roos, recent jurisprudence with respect to the free movement of goods, the Paper notes that in the context of the ‘measure having equivalent effect’, the emphasis in the assessment of the national rule has shifted to an examination of the effect on market access, rather than a distinction based on the type of rule.


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