Bonn awaits ECJ decision on beer fine

Date: 29/02/1996

BONN could face substantial penalties next week for banning the sale of French beer in Germany.

Under EU single market rules, products which are lawfully marketed or sold in one member state automatically qualify for sale in every other member state.

Accordingly, in 1987 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Germany to lift its six-year-old ban on beer made by a French brewery, Brasserie de Pêcheur, which it claimed did not meet high national purity standards. Now the ECJ must decide whether, and to what extent, the brewery should be compensated for its loss of potential sales during that time.

However, if the full Court follows the opinion delivered by Advocate-General Giuseppe Tesauro last year, Germany will escape a compensation order.

Tesauro argued that compensation for firms affected by a member state's failure to comply with EU legislation should only be awarded in cases where the breach was “manifest and grave” - flagrant illegal action - and said that, in his opinion, this did not apply in relation to the beer ban.