The impact of Community law on the domestic legal systems of the Member States. Consumer law

Summary:

The institutions of the European Union ('EU') regularly make the headlines when they create or apply EU law in circumstances which touch on national political sensitivities. The European Commission's alleged attempt to lay off large sections of the fishing community, the Council of Ministers' embargo on British beef exports, the European Court of Justice's decision to abolish nationality restrictions on players in football teams; these examples, and others like them, are trumpeted by the (mostly) tabloid press as instances of perceived interference from an unknown bureaucracy at the expense of national sovereignty. Leaving aside the issue of the accuracy of such allegations, the reality is that the application of EU law, away from the glare of the headlines, has had a considerable impact on the day-to-day activities and behaviour of industry, consumers and citizens.