The Consistency Requirement in EU Internal Market Law : Last Refuge of the Unimaginative or Legal Standard for Rational Administration?

Consistency is a legal requirement that is imposed by the Court of Justice on national claims to an objective justification of barriers to free movement that are based on public policy. As this requirement is seemingly used more frequently, it may be developing into a principle of EU law as such, or at least impose a standard of rational administration on the Member States. This process is traced in this paper in the areas of taxation, gambling and healthcare, along with an overview of the latest cases more generally. In addition, the principle of consistency between EU policies is discussed. At the moment there appears to be no strong link between the internal market type and the EU level type of consistency, although this may yet develop further in future