ABSTRACT
Binsbergen, in the context of the provision of services, establishing the direct effect of both Articles, marked the beginning of the second stage, following which the ECJ gradually refined the use of Articles 43 and 49 EC [Articles 49 and 56 TFEU] to condemn all discrimination, direct and indirect, as well as all indistinctly applicable measures which hinder the access to or the exercise of either freedom. For national rules which are directly discriminatory the only exceptions are those allowed by the Treaties. With regards to indirectly discriminatory and non-discriminatory measures when they constitute obstacles to freedom of establishment/provision of services, the case law of the ECJ and Directive 2006/123 shows that they can be justified if they satisfy the following four conditions:
They apply in a non-discriminatory manner;
They are justified by imperative requirements in the general interest;
They are suitable for securing the attainment of the objective which they pursue;
They are proportionate to the objective sought.
