Free movement of goods

One of the keystones of the European Union (EU) internal market is the principle of the free movement of goods – the creation and development of an area without internal borders, where there are no unjustified restrictions to trade between EU Member States. The free movement of goods is one of the four fundamental economic freedoms laid down in the EU founding treaties, the other three being the free movement of capital, services and people.

The free movement of goods in the EU has been achieved by:

eliminating customs duties on imports and exports, and all charges having an equivalent effect;
prohibiting quantitative restrictions (quotas) on imports and exports, and measures having an equivalent effect (essentially, all trading rules enacted by Member States, which could directly or indirectly, actually or potentially hinder trade within the EU); and
removing non-tariff barriers by harmonising national legislations, eliminating barriers arising from divergent national rules by agreeing common rules, to guarantee both the free movement of goods and to respect other EU objectives, such as environmental and consumer protection.

To avoid the long process of negotiating detailed harmonised rules, the EU adopted what is known as the ‘new approach’ to harmonisation, proposed in the European Commission’s 1985 White Paper on the completion of the internal market, the guiding principle being the principle of mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in one Member State. Legislative harmonisation is limited to agreeing on essential (performance or functional) requirements, while technical specifications for products meeting the essential requirements are be laid down in harmonised voluntary standards. Goods meeting these requirements can be marketed throughout the EU.

The legal bases for EU legislation on the free movement of goods are laid down in Title II – Free Movement of Goods – Articles 28 to 37 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).