Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Union' Court of Justice

Date: 06/01/2010

Subject: Ruling on the freedom of establishment, as provided by the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, the Court affirmed that EU law does not preclude, in principle, national legislation which imposes restrictions on the issue of licences for the opening of new pharmacies, on the basis of the number of inhabitants and of a minimum distance among pharmacies. Nevertheless, EU law precludes such national legislation in so far as the basic rules prevent, in any geographical area which has special demographic features, the establishment of a sufficient number of pharmacies to ensure adequate pharmaceutical services, that being a matter for the national court to ascertain. According to the Court, EU law precludes criteria, such as those set out in the national legislation, under which licensees for new pharmacies are to be selected.

Parties: José Manuel Blanco Pérez, María del Pilar Chao Gómez

Classification: Freedoms - Art. 15 Right of establishment - Equality - Art. 21 Non discrimination

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