Horizontal Direct Effect Of Free Movement Of Goods In EU

The principle that goods should move freely between Member States, which is routinely applied as a check upon Member States’ freedom of action, lies at the heart of the European Union. The concept of horizontal direct effect in the Union legal order has since the inception of the European Union played an arguably important role in maximizing the integration of Union law into the national legal systems. The core question to be answered in this article: whether Treaty provisions on free movement of goods has horizontal direct effect in the legal application, in other words, whether Article 34 and 35 TFEU could be applied to not only public authorities but also individuals and private actions. In a string of cases starting with the 1974 decision in Walrave, the Court has held that the economic freedom of private employers and other powerful organization are limited by the free movement provisions of the Treaty that protect individuals from discrimination on grounds of nationality. In the legal application of free movement of goods, the doctrine of horizontal direct effect has not been that welcomed and the Court has denied this concept in most of the relevant case law to express the attitude that the Treaty provisions in free movement of goods do not have horizontal direct effect. The tentative shift into Walrave territory in Fra.bo brings more coherence to the horizontality of free movement law in one sense, since it finally infuses a basic threshold of collective regulation into goods as well. Although there might be substantive distinction between freedoms, the uniformity of EU law prevails the distinction since the uniform application of EU freedoms would be effective to ensure the integration of the Internal Market. Balancing is a sort of art, which is especially important in the application of law. The internal market itself has been recognized one of the most impressive achievement of European Union. As one of the freedoms established by this system, free movement of goods should be applied in powerful ways to protect the accomplishment of the purpose in assuring the goods moving freely within EU.