Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:575
Date: 2002-10-10
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Freedom to provide services;Anti-discrimination;Non-discrimination on grounds of nationality
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
Community law — Principles — Equal treatment — Discrimination on grounds of 
nationality — Admission to museums, monuments, galleries, archaeological digs, parks 
and gardens classified as public monuments — Advantageous rates granted by local or 
decentralised State authorities only in favour of nationals and persons resident within the 
territory of those authorities who are aged over 60 or 65 years — Not permissible — 
Whether justifiable — No justification 
(Arts 12 and 49 EC) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-388/01 
By allowing advantageous rates for admis­
sion to museums, monuments, galleries, 
archaeological digs, parks and gardens 
classified as public monuments, granted 
by local or decentralised State authorities 
only in favour of nationals and persons 
resident within the territory of those auth­
orities running the cultural sites in question 
who are aged over 60 or 65 years, and by 
excluding from such advantages tourists 
who are nationals of other Member States 
and non-residents who fulfil the same 
objective age requirements, a Member 
States fails to fulfil its obligations under 
Articles 12 EC and 49 EC. 
Such rules are prohibited by the above 
provisions and cannot be justified either by 
economic considerations relating to the 
costs involved in running cultural sites or 
on grounds of cohesion of the tax system, 
since there is no direct link between any 
taxation and the application of preferential 
rates for admission to the sites concerned. 
(see paras 12, 19-25, 28, operative part) 
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