Law of European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law of European Union - Essay Example Article 59 of the EC Treaty will also apply in this case, since the Government is proposing to restrict the production and distribution of rockets and mandate their sale only through certainly registered outlets. The purpose of allowing free movement of goods as set out in Article 2 of the EC Treaty is to establish a common market. According to Article 14 of the EC Treaty, the â€Å"internal market shall comprise an area without frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital is ensured in accordance with the principles of this Treaty.† Under this principle, the measures that could be equivalent to measures to impede the free functioning of the common market would include customs duties or discriminatory taxation systems, any quantitative restrictions on imports and exports or measures that are equivalent to the imposing of import and export restrictions. In the light of the above, the measures that are proposed by the UK include restrictions on imports of rockets and therefore constitute trade barriers to the common market. Similarly, the restrictions on purchasing, possessing or supplying rockets could also constitute similar barriers to trade and free movement of goods within the European Union and undermine the Common Market. The meaning of quantitative restrictions on the free movement of goods was defined in the case of Riseria Luigi3 where any measure that amounts to a â€Å"total or partial restraint† on imports or exports would constitute a restriction. On this basis, therefore, the imposition of regulations for rockets as per Section 2 of the proposed statute could in itself be viewed as a partial restriction on imports. Similarly, Section 3 has specifically included restrictions on individuals in importing rockets. One example that may be cited in this context is the case of Commission v Italy4 where a complete ban was mooted on pork products.