The European Court Rejects Germany’s Beer Import Restrictions

On March 12, 1987, the European Court of Justice ruled against the Federal Republic of Germany in Commission v Germany. German law reserved the designation Bier for beverages complying with national brewing rules and also prevented the marketing of imported beers containing additives prohibited in Germany. The European Commission challenged these restrictions because they excluded beers that had been lawfully produced and marketed in other member states. The Court held that Germany’s rules created an unjustified obstacle to the free movement of goods under Article 30 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. Consumer preference for traditionally brewed beer could be protected through labeling rather than by restricting the generic term beer, while a general prohibition on authorized additives was disproportionate. The judgment required Germany to admit qualifying imported beers, but it did not abolish the ingredient rules governing beer brewed domestically in Germany.