European Business Law

European Business Law

The scenario starts with William, an English dairy farmer who wishes to provide his cheese for sale on the Italian market, where most imported cheese is of the soft variety. On attempting to export ‘Butifulcheese’ to Italy, the authorities blocked it’s entry at the border. William was contacted and it was explained to him that the cheese would have to be submitted for inspection, before it could be allowed to enter. Furthermore, William would have to repackage his product due to an issue regarding resemblance to another brand.

The European Economic Community (EEC) was formed in 1957 by six original member states: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany. The UK didn’t join until 15 years later. Consequently, companies operating within Italy or the UK are obliged to adhere to rules and regulations set out by the EU. In 1993, the treaty of Maastricht led to the EEC being renamed to the European Community (EC). The governing body is composed of representatives from the member nations and divided into four main branches; the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Justice.

(Source: adapted from www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_member_states)

The EC treaty was aimed at promoting harmonious economic activity, continuous stable expansion, and a rise in the standard of living, with closer relations amongst member states. The principal means of achieving this objective was to establish a Common Market by allowing goods to move freely within EU states. This free movement of goods promoted efficiency in production because it permitted producers in different countries to compete directly with each other. What follows is a statement explaining the free movement of goods:

“The European Community set as one of its central tasks the creation of an internal market characterised by the abolition, as between member states, of obstacles to the free movement of...