Self-Control Exercises Chapter 1

1. During his stay in Paris, a British tourist suffered injury resulting from a violent assault at the exit of a metro station. In France, victims of an assault resulting in physical injury were entitled to award of state compensation for harm caused in that state, but only if they had French citizenship or held a residence permit. The Court of Justice ruled that the right in a Member State to financial compensation in the case of physical injury is part of the right to receive services under the same conditions as nationals of that Member State. Did the con-ditions under which victims of assault were awarded state compensation in France consti-tute discrimination that is prohibited under EU law?

a) Yes
b) No

2. Spain allowed free entry to national museums only to its nationals, foreigners resident in Spain, and citizens of other EU member states under the age of 21. Citizens of other mem-ber states over the age of 21 were required to pay an entrance fee. The European Commis-sion claimed that the freedom to provide services recognized by the Treaty includes the freedom for the recipients of services, including tourists, to go to another Member State in order to enjoy those services under the same conditions as nationals. The Commission maintained that right relates not only to access to services but also to all the ancillary ad-vantages that affect the conditions under which those services are provided or received. Since visiting museums is one of the determining reasons for which tourists, as recipients of services, decide to go to another Member State, there is a close link between the freedom of movement which they enjoy under the Treaty and museum admission conditions. The Kingdom of Spain stated that the rules in question were not discriminatory in so far as Ar-ticle 22 (3) of the Regulation on State-Owned Museums and the Spanish Museum System, specifically allowed for the treatment afforded to Spanish nationals to be extended to na-tionals of other Member States. According to the Commission, this argument could not be accepted. While for Spanish nationals the right of free admission stemmed directly from the Regulation, the grant of that advantage to foreigners requires a decision of the Council of Ministers. At that time, however, the Council of Ministers had not made use of its pow-er under Article 22 (3) so only foreigners living in Spain and persons under 21 years of age enjoyed free admission to Spanish museums. Did the conditions under which citizens of other member states over the age of 21 were required to pay an entrance fee to Spanish mu-seums constitute discrimination that is prohibited under EU law?

a) Yes, the conditions constituted direct discrimination
b) Yes, the conditions constituted indirect discrimination
c) No