Case C-445/00R, Republic of Austria v. Council of the European Union

Introduction:

The proper functioning of the internal market is not always easy to reconcile with the protection of the environment. Often, the two objectives meet in court when national environmental measures hinder free movement. The proportionality test then helps to reconcile market and environment as much as possible. Sometimes EC legislation strikes a balance between them. In those instances, possible justification of national environmental measures that infringe the market is assessed within the context of the relevant EC legislation.

In the present case, the setting is rather different. Here, an EC primary law provision strikes a balance between market and environment in favour of the latter. The contested legislation is not a national environmental  measure, but an EC Regulation protecting the market. Possible justification for the EC Regulation has to be assessed within the context of the primary law provision. However, the assessment is done for the purpose of interim relief and does not give a definitive ruling on the interpretation of the primary law provision.