Practice area European law
European integration has caused the Dutch legal system to become increasingly influenced by European laws that are (or are not) directly applicable in the Netherlands. The Procurement, Competition and State Aid specialist department has extensive experience with advising and litigation in these areas of law. But Dirkzwager’s expertise regarding European (public) law does not end there.The four freedoms
The classic European ‘four freedoms’ in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibit public authorities from obstructing the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital. The four freedoms are further implemented by countless directives and regulations. These raise questions, such as:
- Can a specific directive be applied directly in the national legal system?
- How must a national regulation be interpreted in accordance with the Directive?
- Can private individuals invoke directives and/or regulations in their interpersonal relationships?
- Which parties are subject to the obligations in regulations?
In the absence of implementation via regulations or directives, one can always fall back on the four freedoms as they are defined in the TFEU. A thorough knowledge of the European law is required to be able to benefit fully from the application of European rules. For that reason, our European law specialist group has specialised in European (public) law in your interests and we hope to be of service to you with our specific knowledge. We can provide you with advice and guidance in various legal matters and litigate for you in European (public) law issues.
Our specialists have practical experience in the following, to name but a few:
- advising growers’ associations about the Common Market Organisation for agriculture (CMO) and its relationship to competition law,
- the (interpretation of the) Construction Products Regulation and disputes about CE marking,
- advising and litigating in relation to the Services Directive,
- communication with the Dutch Consumers and Markets Authority regarding the registration of networks,
- the issuance of (scarce) rights and permits by public authorities,
- advising public authorities about the principle of Union loyalty and the ‘effet utile’.
Our knowledge is your knowledge
We are pleased to share our knowledge with our clients. We are pleased to fulfil your request to provide an in-house workshop on a part of European law that is tailored to your organisation. We invite you to contact Mr Sjaak van der Heul.