Press Release: Free movement of goods: Germany will be referred to Court over its rules on deposits for one-way packaging, unless the system is amended within three months

The European Commission decided on 20 October 2004 to refer Germany to the European Court of Justice over the national deposit and return rules that apply to one-way packaging as of 1 January 2003, because it believed that the way in which the deposit and return systems function in Germany constituted a disproportionate barrier to the free movement of packaged beverages from other Member States, in breach of the Treaty's rules on free movement of goods (Article 28) and of Article 7 of Directive 94/62/EC (the 'Packaging Directive').