Criminal proceeding v. Yannick Geffroy e Casino France SNC, Case C-366/98, CJEU, 12 September 2000

Obligation for Member States to prohibit trade in products without indications written in a language understandable by consumers. Linguistic protection.

Council Directive 79/112 / EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the labelling and presentation of food products intended for the final consumer, as well as related advertising.

1. European Union law does not preclude legislation of a Member State which provides that the labelling of food products and the related methods of realisation must not mislead the consumer, especially as regards the characteristics of such products.

2. Art. 14 of Directive 79/112 precludes national legislation requiring the use of a specific language for the labelling of foodstuffs, without admitting the possibility that another language easily understood by purchasers may be used or that the information of the buyer is guaranteed otherwise. Such taxation would constitute a measure prohibited by art. 30 of the Treaty.