Cultural and Economic Justifications in the Internal Market : Assessing the Intersection of Cultural Aims and Economic Protectionism in Member State's Measures

Abstract

Cultural diversity among the Member States remains prominent in the European Union despite extensive economic integration. Cultural measures fall within the scope of EU internal market law when they restrict the fundamental freedoms and are justified on cultural grounds. Yet, such justifications often carry an economic dimension. Many sectors regulated by internal market law intersect with national cultural traditions, making it difficult to draw a clear line between cultural and economic objectives.

The thesis examines the tension between prohibited economic aims and potentially permissible cultural aims, asking whether national measures may legitimately pursue both types of objectives while still qualifying as cultural justifications under internal market law. The study employs a doctrinal method complemented by a critical assessment on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The analysis is carried out by examining the EU’s legal framework on culture and cultural competence, the operation of cultural justifications within internal market law, and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the distinction between cultural and economic objectives.

The findings show that the line between economic and cultural justifications is difficult to define. The Court of Justice has been more likely to accept cultural aims when they have been linked to fundamental rights or have previously been recognised as public interest reasons. The recent case law, especially case Fussl, indicates that cultural and economic objectives may coexist within a single measure and still constitute a cultural justification. Given the Court’s increasingly permissive case law, the paper proposes a clearer doctrine on the interface between cultural and economic objectives that would possibly allow intermediate economic objectives as part of cultural justifications.