26/01/2023 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission announced on Thursday 26 January that it has decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union over a prior notification scheme introduced by the Hungarian authorities to block the export of construction materials. The Commission considers that the measures are contrary to Articles 35 and 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as they restrict the free movement of goods and are not justified. Furthermore, the Commission considers that Hungary has not satisfactorily demonstrated that the objective of the measure corresponds to a legitimate aim and that there does not appear to be a real risk to the security of supply of the products concerned in Hungary. As a result, the Hungarian authorities are free to determine when there is a risk to security of supply in the construction sector, which makes the decision “potentially arbitrary”, the Commission argues. (TM)