Press Release: Seeding of oysters in Dutch coastal waters referred to the European Court

The European Commission has taken the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice over its rules restricting the seeding of mussels and oysters coming from other Member States into Dutch coastal waters. The Commission does not agree with the Dutch argument that this is necessary to protect the vulnerable habitats of such waters, as the kind of protection sought by the Dutch authorities is already guaranteed by a parallel licensing regime in execution of the Dutch nature protection law. The Commission has referred this case to the European Court of Justice arguing that the Netherlands makes the free movement of goods in the internal market difficult.