Cambridge BA: Direct Effect, Supremacy & Free Movement Exam Paper

Maria, a Spanish national, moves to the UK in 2019 to work as a software engineer for TechCorp Ltd. In 2021, she loses her job due to company restructuring and begins claiming jobseeker's allowance. After six months of unemployment, the UK authorities inform her that she must leave the country as she is no longer exercising treaty rights. Meanwhile, Maria's brother Carlos, also Spanish, arrives in the UK in 2020 as a tourist but overstays his visa. He finds work as a cleaner with CleanCo Ltd, which pays him below minimum wage and refuses to provide the same health insurance offered to UK workers, arguing that Carlos has no right to work legally. Carlos also discovers that CleanCo has been automatically rejecting job applications from EU nationals since Brexit, stating this is 'company policy'. Additionally, Maria's German friend Hans, who has lived in the UK since 2015, is told by his employer that his promotion to senior management has been blocked because the company board believes 'British jobs should go to British people first', despite Hans being fully qualified. All three individuals seek legal advice about their rights under EU law. Advise Maria, Carlos, and Hans on their respective positions, considering the principles of direct effect and free movement of workers.

EuroHealth Ltd, a pharmaceutical company incorporated in Germany, seeks to establish operations across several EU Member States. In France, the company is told it cannot open a subsidiary because French law requires all pharmaceutical companies to have at least 60% French ownership and be managed by French nationals who have completed specific French pharmaceutical qualifications. EuroHealth's German-qualified directors are informed their qualifications are not recognised. In Italy, EuroHealth discovers that while it can establish a branch office, it will be subject to a special 5% 'foreign company tax' that does not apply to domestic Italian pharmaceutical companies. The Italian authorities justify this as necessary to protect the national healthcare system and ensure adequate tax revenue from foreign enterprises. In Belgium, EuroHealth is permitted to establish operations but is told it cannot provide cross-border pharmaceutical consulting services to clients in the Netherlands and Luxembourg from its Belgian base, as Belgian law prohibits pharmaceutical companies from offering services outside Belgium without obtaining separate authorisation in each target country - a process that typically takes 18 months per country. EuroHealth also wishes to post some of its German employees to work temporarily in its new Belgian office, but Belgian authorities demand that these workers obtain Belgian work permits and complete a mandatory six-month local training course before they can begin work, despite being fully qualified under German law. Advise EuroHealth on the compatibility of these national measures with EU law on freedom of establishment and free movement of services.

"The doctrine of direct effect has fundamentally transformed the relationship between EU law and national legal systems, but its expansion beyond the original Treaty provisions has created constitutional tensions that threaten the coherence of the European legal order." Critically analyse this statement with particular reference to the application of direct effect to different sources of EU law.

"The principle of mutual recognition, while essential to the functioning of the internal market, has been undermined by the Court of Justice's inconsistent approach to mandatory requirements and the proportionality test." Discuss with reference to the free movement of goods and services.