Brussels, 04/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 4 March (C-197/08, C-198/08, C-221/08), the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that minimum retail prices imposed by France, Austria and Ireland on cigarettes and certain tobacco products run counter to EU law. In particular, it considers that other means (such as increased excise tax) would allow health protection objectives to be reached.
The European Commission has referred three cases of proceedings for failure to fulfil an obligation to...