Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2004:78
Date: 2004-02-05
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Measures having equivalent effect;Quantitative restrictions
Concepts: Protection of public health and protection of plants;Import or export licences and declarations, standards certificates, etc.
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent 
effect — National legislation making the marketing of food products for sportsmen and 
women subject to authorisation — Not permissible — Justification — Protection of 
public health — Consumer protection — Inability to demonstrate the necessity and 
proportionality of the said measure 
(Arts 28 EC and 30 EC) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-270/02 
A Member State which maintains in force 
legislation which subjects the marketing of 
food products for sportsmen and women 
lawfully manufactured and marketed in 
other Member States to a requirement of 
applying for prior authorisation and of 
initiating a procedure for that purpose 
without having shown that it is necessary 
and proportionate fails to fulfil its obli­
gations under Articles 28 EC and 30 EC. 
It is for the competent national authorities 
to show that their rules are necessary in 
order to attain one or more objectives 
mentioned in Article 30 EC, such as the 
protection of health and life of humans, or 
to meet imperative requirements relating, 
inter alia, to consumer protection and, 
where appropriate, that the marketing of 
the products in question poses a serious risk 
to public health and that those rules are in 
conformity with the principle of propor­
tionality. 
(see paras 2 1 , 22, 26, operative part) 
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