Deposit return (DR) schemes on drinks containers have long been in place in certain EU Member States. Consumers are charged a deposit per container at the point of purchase, which they can later get back when they return the container after consuming its contents. Whilst such schemes are in the interests of the environment, at least historically before the age of mass-household recycling, it is debatable whether such schemes can be justified in the modern age, given the obvious problems that DR schemes pose to the EU's internal market as a restriction to cross-border trade and the free movement of goods. This article analyses DR schemes, accounting for recent developments at the Court of Justice of the European Union, before reflecting on what the future holds for DR schemes as a matter of EU law.

This article examines the discovery of the political question doctrine within the EU legal order as it relates to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which includes the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The CFSP has long presented a constitutional anomaly, marked by explicit jurisdictional limitations placed on the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) by the EU Treaties and a deliberate separation from the EU’s ordinary decision-making procedure. Against this backdrop, the article explores how the political question doctrine has emerged as a pragmatic judicial response to the tension between the desire of the Member States to keep the CJEU out of the EU’s foreign, security, and defence policies; whilst also balancing a core principle of EU law, which is to ensure effective judicial protection. The article analyses the political question doctrine, as now discovered in the case-law, and whether it provides a structured framework for distinguishing between acts and omissions within the CFSP that are reviewable by the CJEU; and those that are not, based on whether they are “directly related” to “political” or “strategic” choices. The article also considers the implications of the political question doctrine for the EU’s external relations, including the EU’s ambition to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

The evolution of intellectual property law within the EU legal framework has been substantial and rapid. Previously viewed as a potential exception to the free movement of goods which EU Member States could potentially use to counteract the scope of free movement law, intellectual property law is now seen in a new light in the modern era. A plethora of EU secondary law, and by extension, applying to the entire EEA, have aimed to harmonise elements of the internal market to establish intellectual property rights on a pan-EEA basis. The introduction of EEA law three decades ago, along with the adjudication of the EFTA Court in this area, has sparked a robust discussion about EU/EEA intellectual property law. Even though it may not have been on the terms it initially intended, the EFTA Court has made significant contributions to the field, covering areas such as trademark law, copyright law, and patent law.

This chapter explores the multifaceted nature of investment within the EU legal order, emphasising its intersection with various areas of law, including national, EU, public international and private international law. It highlights the limited explicit references to investment in the EU Treaties, but nonetheless notes its implicitness in a whole range of areas of EU law. Against this backdrop, the chapter considers the broader implications of investment-related case law of the past decade. It then analyses the tension between the EU’s internal market freedoms and the autonomy of the EU legal order, as well as the impact of recent judgments on intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It also examines the evolving landscape of EU secondary law on investment, including those related to investment screening and foreign subsidies. Before setting out the trajectory of the book and all the chapters that follow, the chapter notes that investment is deeply embedded in the EU legal order, and its relevance is now influencing the constitutional, internal market, and external relations aspects of the EU. 

This Research Handbook focuses on the internal market aspects of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) pillar of the European Economic Area (EEA). Leading academics, judges, and practitioners examine the EEA internal market in a structured and systematic manner. Throughout, they provide an in-depth analysis of the free movement and horizontal aspects of the EFTA pillar of the EEA.

Contributing authors in this Research Handbook firstly address the free movement of goods, persons (including workers and social security), services, establishment, capital and payments within the EFTA pillar. Secondly, they dissect the flanking policies that apply, including competition, state aid, banking, insurance, transport, intellectual property, consumer protection, and the environment. Third, the Research Handbook contains a number of critical reflections. Overall, it is a comprehensive examination based on EEA primary law, EEA secondary law, EFTA Surveillance Authority practice, and the EFTA Court’s case-law.

The Research Handbook on EEA Internal Market Law, providing authoritative and informative coverage, is essential reading for academics, judges, and students in all areas of European law across both the EU and EFTA pillars of the EEA. It is also a valuable resource for national and international civil servants, law firms, national courts, domestic policymakers, and private practitioners.