Cassis de Dijon case
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Cassis de Dijon case
An important EU Court case providing for mutual recognition of standards in different EU countries.
EC Court verdict from 1979 stating that, as a rule, products in one EU country are also legal in other EU countries (case 120/78).
The verdict forced the member states to agree on common standards which they would otherwise not have agreed.
Cassis is a French liqueur with an alcohol level of 16%. Germany would not allow it to be sold as “liqueur” under German law, which states that the minimum percentage of alcohol should be 25%.
The verdict paved the way for decisions by qualified majority under the so-called Internal Market, introduced by the Single European Act in 1987.
See also Harmonisation and Environmental clause
Links
http://www.europarl.eu.int/factsheets/3_2_1_en.htm
