The Most-Favoured-Nation Principle in the EU

In: Legal issues of economic integration: law journal of the Europa Instituut and the Amsterdam Center for International Law, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Band 34, Heft 4, S. 315-347

Abstract

This article analyses the question whether the most-favoured-nation principle applies within the EU and, if so, to what extent. The most-favoured-nation principle implies that Member States are not allowed to discriminate between goods, persons, etc. from different Member States. In the D case and again in the ACT case, the ECJ decided that the most-favoured-nation principle cannot be applied where differences of treatment are due to differences in the double taxation conventions between the Member States, but at the same time, the ECJ opened up application of the principle in other situations. Furthermore, the most-favoured-nation principle found in the WTO agreements also have an influence on the application of the principle in the EU.