Rosengren E.A
Brussels, 22 July 2004 1 EFTA SURVEILLANCE Case No: 55742 AUTHORITY, Event No: 287996 TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS submitted pursuant to Article 23 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Communities by the EFTA Surveillance Authority represented by Niels Fenger, Director, and Arne Torsten Andersen, Officer, in the Department of Legal & Executive Affairs, acting as Agents, assisted by Mia Sahlborn Hodgson, Officer in the Internal Market Affairs Directorate in Case C-170/04 Klas Rosengren and Others v. Riksaklagaren (The Public Prosecutor) in which the Hogsta Domstolen, Sweden, has requested the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC on the interpretation of Articles 28, 30 and 31 EC. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (hereinafter referred to as "the Authority") has the honour to submit the following written observations to the Court. I. Introduction 1. In the present case, the Hogsta Domstolen (Swedish Supreme Court) asks four questions concerning the compatibility with Community law of a rule in Swedish law regulating private import of alcohol on to its territory. According to this rule, private import of alcohol is only permitted when the individual importing the alcohol is travelling into Sweden, physically bringing the alcohol with him (or in a few other narrowly defined situations not relevant to the case pending before the Hogsta Domstolen). This prohibition is combined with another provision in Swedish law, according to which the holder of the retail monopoly in Sweden, namely Systembolaget, upon request from a private individual, can import alcohol from foreign producers that Systembolaget does not hold in stock.
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