The Italian legislation prohibiting private companies from carrying out the activity of guarding funeral urns constitutes an unjustified restriction on the freedom of establishment contrary to European Union law, the EU Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday 14 November (Case C-342/17).
The Italian company Memoria brought an action before the Italian courts challenging a 2015 regulation by the municipality of Padua excluding the possibility for the depositary of a funeral urn to use the services of a private company.
When questioned by the Regional Administrative Court for the Veneto Region, the Court ruled against the municipality of Padua.
Considering the application admissible, the European judge is of the opinion that the local rules must be examined in the light of the principle of freedom of establishment guaranteed by the Treaty (Article 49 TFEU), since the Services Directive (2006/123) is not applicable.
According to the Court, the restriction imposed is not justified by the overriding reasons in the general interest invoked by Italy. Indeed, as far as: - protection of public health, funeral ashes are biologically inert; - respect for the memory of the deceased, less restrictive measures would make it possible to achieve the same objective, such as the obligation for a private company to keep a funeral urn in conditions similar to those of communal cemeteries; - respect for the dominant moral values in Italy which would prevent this type of activity from being for profit, the Court notes that the public authorities themselves charge for their services. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)