Section B
Question 1: Free movement of goods
The principle of free movement of goods is one of the
keystones of the European Union (EU) introduced to ensure an internal market.
It focuses on the creation and development of an international market without
internal borders for the countries that are members of the EU where there are
no unjustified restrictions on trade.[1].
Thus, the free movement of goods is one of the four central economic freedoms
laid down in the European Union's founding treaties, including the free
movement of people, capital and services. It is archived, ensuring that the
customs duties and similar charges on imported and exported goods have been
eliminated for the citizens and companies from countries under the EU.[2].
The law also prohibits quantitative policies in the form of quotas on imports
and exports between the EEA States. It prohibits the discriminatory internal
taxation of the products of an EEA State. As a result, the law is secured
through
According to the case study, Flaner is a French company that
produces and exports different household toiletries, products, food and drinks.
The first issue is that the company faces trade restrictions from the Belgian
government, which imposes a levy on all imported food products. The case study
has also demonstrated that the collected money is managed by Belgium’s
Department of International Development and utilized to fund donations to the
governments of poor third-world countries. Despite the company exporting
cheesecake from France to Belgium without any levy, it was obliged to pay the
new levy when the goods crossed the border. After paying the levy, the Belgian
Government offers the importers complimentary tickets to an annual conference
on the food sector's future organized by the Government's Department of
Industry and Commerce. The controlling rule of law that governs the free
movement of goods is indicated under articles 34 and 36 of the TFEU, which prohibits
customs duties and all charges having equivalent effect to a customs duty. In
this case, the Belgian government violates the principle of free movement of
goods, one of the keystones of the European Union (EU)that does not allow
Member States to restrict intra-EU trade in goods. If a Member State refuses a
good that is legally manufactured and marketed in another member state, then
the Commission can launch infringement proceedings.
Another issue is the inspection conducted by the Italian
Government’s Department of Health on the imported shampoos to ascertain their
safety. The inspection was introduced after the Italian Office for Health
Statistics released information showing that many cases of hair loss are caused
by defective shampoo. Thus, the Italian Border Agency destroys any shampoos
that fail the inspection. The controlling rule of law is stated under Article
34 of the EU treaty, which supports the elimination of technical trade barriers
(TBT) in the EEA through harmonized product requirements or the mutual
recognition of products. In this case, the Italian government has breached the
trading rule that Member States enact by introducing an inspection policy that “directly
or indirectly, actually or potentially hinder trade within the EU". The EU
law has been breached, which requires the removal of non-tariff barriers by harmonizing
national legislations and eliminating barriers arising from divergent national rules
by agreeing on common rules. Considering that the company has produced the
goods legally, the Italian government fails to guarantee both the free movement
of goods and respect other EU objectives, such as environmental and consumer
protection.
Another issue facing the company is the plastic ban, which
was introduced by the Portuguese Government following concerns about plastic
pollution in the Atlantic Ocean. Flaner have always sold its soap products in
Portugal, parked in a cardboard box with one side made up of see-through
plastic. However, the company must now ensure that it only uses packaging that
contains no plastic for any of its soap products destined for the Portuguese
market to comply with the new policy. The new policy by Portuguese law now
requires that no plastic be used in the packaging of all such products. The
controlling rule of law that governs the free movement of goods is indicated
under Article 34, which acts as the guiding principle of mutual recognition of
goods lawfully marketed in one Member State. However, the legislative harmonization
by the EU is limited to agreeing on essential requirements where the technical
specifications for products meeting the essential requirements are laid down in
harmonized voluntary standards. As a result, the Portuguese Government
considers that goods meeting these requirements can be marketed throughout the
EU.
The German Government is also considering restricting the
sale of air freshener sprays. The issue is that the new restrictions mean
Flaner has discovered that their air freshener spray products can only be sold
in shops with a health and safety permit that allows them to store and sell
such products in Germany. However, the same rule applies to such air freshener
sprays, which are produced by the local producers in German producers. The
controlling rule of law that governs the free movement of goods is indicated
under Article 34 and acts as the guiding principle of mutual recognition of
goods lawfully marketed in one Member State.
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