Tortillas Supreme SA is a company established in Spain and markets a wide range of tortillas in Spain, Portugal and France.

Case:

Tortillas Supreme SA is a company established in Spain and markets a wide range of tortillas in Spain, Portugal and France. However, lately it has been facing some difficulties in selling its products in France, since France has adopted national measures, which impose a number of conditions on food importers.

Trucks with consignments of foods are stopped at the French border and spot health checks (by randomly opening a number of cases to check a few samples from each) are carried out in order to verify that the imported food is safe for consumers. France justifies the health inspections by the discovery of a bacteria in eggs sold in Spain, which has caused serious infections in several persons and argues, based on preliminary scientific reports, that the bacteria originates in products containing eggs imported from Spain. Spain in turn claims that there is no proof whatsoever that the bacteria found originates in Spanish eggs, but highlights that the origin of the bacteria has not yet been scientifically established.

The costs of these health inspections have to be borne by the food importers.

Finally, any food products containing egg or dairy may only be sold in establishments providing a cool storage environment for the food products.

Task: Analyse the factual situation in order to identify the relevant issues, explain the appropriate legal principles and apply them to the facts, and reason your conclusion.

Analyse whether the spot health checks are compatible with EU free movement law → CEE, Statistical Levy case, Article 30 TFEU, Custom Duties 

Additional info:

EU free movement law prohibits customs duties and CEEs (charges equivalent effect) under Article 30 TFEU

Customs duties : this is customs duties but does not apply in our case (mention it on why its not applying for us) 

Financial charges, determined on the basis of a tariff, imposed when or because a good crosses the border when it is imported into or exported from an EU MS

CEE: charge imposed on people and that is mandatory charge for any party subject to it ⇒ payment cannot be avoided 

→ here the cost of the random health inspections are born by the food importer ⇒ food importer has no choice but to pay

⇒ SO illegal under EU free movement law