Brussels, 16/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Although it is a restriction on the freedom to supply services, the ban on people who do not officially reside in the Netherlands from visiting Dutch coffee shops complies with European Union law because it is justified for tackling drug tourism and the problems this generates, and also for maintaining public order and protecting health at both nation state and EU level.
This was the rulings given by the European Court of Justice on 16 December in Case C-137/09, responding to four questions raised by the Dutch Council of State, which had been asked to rule on a dispute between a coffee shop owner (a cafe in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis is legal alongside the sale of soft drinks and food) and the local authority of Maastricht, which in December 2005 banned foreigners (in the sense of anyone not residing officially in the Netherlands) from using coffee shops, mostly on the grounds of keeping public order. The coffee shop owner appealed against the temporary closing down of his coffee shop, arguing that the Maastricht ban gave rise to unfair treatment of European Union citizens and was an infringement on the free circulation of goods.
The Court of Justice rejected the coffee shop owner's arguments, saying that for the sale of cannabis, he is unable to make use of his rights to circulate and not be discriminated against because the sale of drugs is banned in the European Union. These freedoms can be invoked, however, for the sale of soft drinks and food (catering). Nonetheless the restriction on this activity is justified by the need to properly tackle drug tourism and the public order offences it gives rise to in Maastricht and at EU level (illegal drug trafficking, exports of cannabis to other member states, and the like). This is combined with the general aim of protecting public health.
On the question of whether the ban is disproportionate, the Court of Justice points out that other measures to meet the same objectives have not been effective or sufficient. On whether foreigners should be allowed to use coffee shops if they do not buy cannabis, the Court of Justice said that this would cause a general problem of enforcing such a rule and preventing the illegal sale or re-sale to foreigners, who can buy food and soft drinks in other cafes. (F.G./transl.fl)