Greek law provided an exemption of taxes on the transfer of immovable property and on the purchase of a first home in Greece, granted solely (respectively) to persons permanently residing in Greece and Greek nationals. The ECJ recalled that “the rules regarding equal treatment forbid not only overt discrimination by reason of nationality but also all covert forms of discrimination which, by the application of other criteria of differentiation, lead in fact to the same result” (para 45) and held that the Greek provisions constituted an impediment to free movement. Interestingly, Greece argued that the measure aimed to discourage speculation on real property by real estate owners. The court examined this argument, admitting that “national measures which are liable to hinder or make less attractive the exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty may nevertheless be allowed provided that they pursue an objective in the public interest, are appropriate for attaining that objective and do not go beyond what is necessary to attain the objective pursued” (para 51); however, the measures at stake did not appear to actually attain the objective pursued. The Court seems therefore prepared to admit that derogations to free movements serve to facilitate housing if it does not discriminate any category of potential beneficiaries within the EU.
Edited by Cecile Benoliel
