European Law: Articles 30 and 110 TFEU

European Law: Articles 30 and 110 TFEU

Introduction

In the European Community, the free movement of goods principle is one of the fundamental principles, which has been codified in Article 28 (formerly Article 30). The underlying aim of Article 28 is to promote the free movement of goods by prohibiting all measures either a quantitative restriction or measures having equivalent effect that constitute an obstacle to free movement of goods in the Community. 1

The principle of free movement means products can circulate internationally in the same way as domestically. The concepts of the freedom of movement and freedom of competition between Member States are relevant to the protection. The exercise by intellectual property owners to prevent importation may amount to measures having the effect equivalent to quantitative restriction. Nevertheless, the European Community also recognized the exclusive rights of intellectual property owner under Article 30 (formerly Article 36) of the EEC Treaty providing for an exception to the principle of free movement of goods for the protection of industrial and commercial property. The Community attempted to balance the conflict between the concepts of free movement and the protection of goods, especially in distribution and importation rights because the enforcement of law affects the free movement of goods or free competition. Consequently, Article 110 and 30 of the EEC Treaty are the main instruments used to guarantee the freedom of movement for goods, while still preserving the goods. The discussion on relationship between Article 110 and 30 will be explained later on the topic of the circulation of parallel imported goods inside the European Union. 2

Free Movement In The EU

At the heart of the EEC and now EC Treaty is the creation of the common, now single or internal, market, an area without frontiers in which the so-called 'four freedoms' can be ensured. The four freedoms concern about the free movement of goods, (Articles 23-25, 28-30 and 90 EC), persons (Article 39 on workers (essentially employed persons) and Article 43 on establishment (the self-employed and companies), services (Articles 49 and 50 EC) and capital (Articles 56-58). Some might add an additional category: the free movement of citizens (Article 18(1) EC). The idea behind the four freedoms is that it should be as easy to trade or move between London and Budapest as it is between London and Birmingham 4. The aim is market integration, i.e. the removal of barriers to trade and migration between states. This is what the Treaty provisions aim to do, and this is what is sometimes referred to as negative integration.

The advantages of free movement are various. In the case of persons, there are benefits for both individual migrant workers and the 'host' state where they go to work. Workers coming from other Member States often take up jobs which cannot be filled from the pool of national workers. The migrants might also bring new talents and skills which the national workforce cannot offer. For individual migrants, moving to a new job in another ...