Examining Free Movement of Goods: The Cassis de Dijon Case in EU Law

This case study delves into the European Union's principle of free movement of goods, highlighting its significance through the lens of the Cassis de Dijon case. The case, involving a French liqueur with a lower alcohol content than permitted under German law, serves as a critical example of how EU regulations aim to eliminate trade barriers between member states. The analysis references key articles from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Articles 26 and 28-37) and emphasizes the economic implications of such trade disputes. This document, available on Desklib, provides students with a valuable resource for understanding EU law and its practical applications, with Desklib offering a platform to access similar solved assignments and study materials.

Running head: EUROPEAN LAW
European Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EUROPEAN LAW
Free movement of goods is one of the most important functions of the European Union.
According to the rules of the European Union all the products manufactured in any of the
countries under European Union will be acceptable in other countries as well. It is the first of the
four independent clauses in the internal market of the EU.1 This feature of this treaty would
allow all the products of the European countries to be sold in other countries without their
customs duties and any quantitative restrictions. Therefore, it has been granted that the products
can be sold without any tax being imposed on the products.
In this scenario, the Cassis de Dijon case is one of the eye openers for the consideration
of the member countries of EU.2 Cassis is a liquer manufactured in France with only 16% of
alcohol. As per the norms of EU, it could be sold as a liquer in other countries of EU but
Germany protested against this.3 It is because the German laws suggest that their liquers should
at least contain a minimum of 25% of alcohol. The verdict would have to be made by the
qualified majority in the Internal Market that was constituted under the Single European Act in
1987. The basic legal document in support of this internal market scenario can be found in the
1 Europarl.europa.e, 'Free Movement Of Goods | Fact Sheets On The European Union | European Parliament'
(Europarl.europa.eu, 2019) <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/38/free-movement-of-goods>
accessed 24 May 2019
2 En.euabc.com, 'Cassis De Dijon Case - Euabc' (En.euabc.com, 2019) <http://en.euabc.com/word/140> accessed 24
May 2019
3 Europarl.europa.e, 'Free Movement Of Goods | Fact Sheets On The European Union | European Parliament'
(Europarl.europa.eu, 2019) <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/38/free-movement-of-goods>
accessed 24 May 2019

2EUROPEAN LAW
Articles 26 and 28-37 in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This issue should
be dealt with seriousness since it might cause economic loss for Germany.

3EUROPEAN LAW
Reference List
En.euabc.com, 'Cassis De Dijon Case - Euabc' (En.euabc.com, 2019)
<http://en.euabc.com/word/140> accessed 24 May 2019
Europarl.europa.e, 'Free Movement Of Goods | Fact Sheets On The European Union | European
Parliament' (Europarl.europa.eu, 2019)
<http://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/38/free-movement-of-goods> accessed 24
May 2019