EU business law

Week 1: Stages of Economic Integration

  • 1. Free Trade Area: Remove customs duties and quotas on trade between member states.

    • Quotas: Limits on the amount of goods imported/exported.

    • Customs Duties: Additional charges for imports/exports.

  • 2. Customs Union: No tariffs/quotas between members + common external tariff.

  • 3. Common Market: Free movement of goods/services, labor, and capital.

  • 4. Economic Union: Combination of customs union and common market.

  • 5. Economic and Monetary Union: Unified policy and common currency.

Common Market Models

  1. Host Country Control: Local country rules apply.

  2. Harmonized Model: Single set of rules for the entire market.

  3. Home Country Control: Rules of the product's origin apply.

Page 2: Single European Act and Free Movement

  • Single European Act (1987): An internal market without frontiers.

  • Advantages: Workable and functional.

  • Disadvantages: Incomplete control of national governments, regulatory competition.

Free Movements Explained

  • Goods: Move freely across the EU.

  • Services: EU companies can provide services in different member states.

  • Capital: No restrictions on movement of money within the EU.

  • Tobacco Advertising (Art 114): Limited regulatory scope to support internal market.

Week 2: Fiscal Barriers to Trade

  • Article 30 TFEU: Prohibition of customs duties and charges.

  • Charges of Equivalent Effect (CEE): Any charge imposed due to crossing borders.

Permissible Charges

  1. Must apply to both domestic and foreign goods.

  2. For paid services and proportional to service costs.

  3. Imposed by Union law.

Page 4: General Taxation Rules

  • Article 110 TFEU: Avoids discriminatory taxation on imports vs. domestic products.

  • Direct Discrimination: Unequal treatment on grounds of nationality.

  • Indirect Discrimination: Neutral measures disadvantaging foreign products.

Justifications for Indirect Discrimination

  • Member states can justify taxation policies under certain conditions.

Page 5: Case Examples

  • Case 140/79 Chemical Farmaceuti: Tax differences to favor agriculture.

  • Case C-213/96 Commission v France: Favoring certain wines with lower taxes.

Page 6: Quantitative Restrictions

  • Articles 34 & 35 TFEU: Prohibition of quantitative restrictions and equivalent measures.

  • MEQR: Measures obstructing intra-EU trade.

Page 6-7: Leading Cases

  • Cassis de Dijon: Required acceptance of lawfully produced goods.

  • Keck Test: National laws on selling arrangements must not hinder trade if applied equally.

Week 3: Article 36 Justifications

  • Prohibitions for public morality, health, etc., must not be arbitrary or disguised restrictions.

Proportionality Principle

  • National measures must be necessary to safeguard public interests without excessive trade restrictions.

Week 4: EU Citizenship

  • Grzelczyk Case (2001): EU citizenship is fundamental.

Application of EU Law

  • Applies to citizens engaging in economic activities in different member states.

Page 10: Rights of Migrants

  • Tiered rights for EU citizens in other member states.

Rights Overview

  • Up to 3 months: All Union citizens can move freely.

  • Beyond 3 months: Must show economic activity for social benefits.

Week 11: EU Competition Law Principles

  • The goal is to enhance competition and protect consumers.

  • Exclusion of anti-competitive agreements between firms (Art. 101 TFEU).

Page 20: Major Concepts

  • Market Power: A firm's ability to sustain prices above the competitive level.

  • Cartel: Agreement among firms to limit competition.

  • Article 101 prohibits anti-competitive agreements affecting trade.

Page 25: De Minimis Doctrine vs. Presumption of non-affectation

  • Minor agreements do not significantly affect competition (Aggregate market share < 5%).

Week 12: EU Protection of Personal Data

  • GDPR (2018) strengthened rights regarding data.

Key GDPR Concepts

  • Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified individual.

  • Consent: Freely given, specific, informed consent for data processing.

Page 55: Data Processing Principles

  • Data Minimization: Limit data collection to what is necessary.

  • Accuracy and Storage Limitation: Data must be accurate and not retained beyond necessary period.

Page 59: Enforcement Mechanisms

  • Right to lodge a complaint: Effective judicial remedy for infringements.

Week 16: EU Labour Law Sources

  • National Law: Constitutions, legislation, and collective agreements.

EU Labour Law

  • Treaties, regulations, directives regulated under Article 153 TFEU.

Rights of Workers in Restructuring

  • Collective redundancies provisions and transfers of undertakings ensure worker protection.