A Case Moving at the Frontiers of Market Access, Freedom of Goods, the Common Agricultural Policy and Science in Court - Reflections on Scotch Whisky Association

In Scotch Whisky Association, the Court of Justice held that a minimum unit pricing mechanism on alcoholic drinks constituted a measure equivalent to a quantitative restriction under Art. 34 TFEU, because it prevents the lower cost price of imported products being reflected in the selling price to the consumer, and therefore hinders market access. Both, the Advocate General and the Court, used this judgment to introduce some remarkable insights particularly on the future of the market access formula, the relationship of the Common Agricultural Policy to the freedom of goods and how national courts need to make recourse to scientific evidence when applying the proportionality test.