Keywords



Keywords

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Free movement of goods ° Quantitative restrictions ° Measures having equivalent effect ° Definition ° Obstacles resulting from national provisions regulating, in a non-discriminatory manner, selling arrangements ° Inapplicability of Article 30 of the Treaty ° Rules governing shop opening hours ° Equal treatment as between national and imported products ° Criteria for assessment ° Whether rules permissible under Article 52 of the Treaty and Directive 64/223 ° Inapplicability of Directive 83/189

(EC Treaty, Arts 30 and 52; Council Directives 64/223 and 83/189)

The application to products from other Member States of national provisions restricting or prohibiting certain selling arrangements is not such as to hinder directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, trade between Member States, so long as those provisions apply to all relevant traders operating within the national territory and so long as they affect in the same manner, in law and in fact, the marketing of domestic products and of those from other Member States. Provided those conditions are fulfilled, the application of such rules to the sale of products from another Member State meeting the requirements laid down by that State is not by nature such as to prevent their access to the market or to impede access any more than it impedes the access of domestic products. Such rules therefore fall outside the scope of Article 30 of the Treaty.

Accordingly, on a proper construction, Article 30 of the Treaty does not apply to national rules on the closing times of shops applicable to all traders exercising an activity on national territory and affecting in the same way, in law and in fact, the marketing of domestic products and products from other Member States.

That condition is satisfied where there is no evidence that the aim of the rules at issue is to regulate trade in goods between Member States or that, viewed as a whole, they could lead to unequal treatment between national products and imported products as regards access to the market. In that connection, national rules whose effect is to limit the marketing of a product generally, and consequently its importation, cannot on that ground alone be regarded as limiting access to the market for those imported products to a greater extent than for similar national products. The fact that national legislation may restrict the volume of sales generally, and hence the volume of sales of products from other Member States, is not sufficient to characterize such legislation as a measure having an effect equivalent to a quantitative restriction. Moreover, national rules restricting the opening of shops on Sundays reflect certain choices relating to particular national or regional socio-cultural characteristics and it is for the Member States to make those choices in compliance with the requirements of Community law.

Furthermore, neither Article 52 of the Treaty nor Directive 64/223 concerning the attainment of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services in respect of activities in the wholesale trade preclude such rules. Directive 83/189 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, as amended by Directive 88/182, is not applicable to such rules.