Rule of Reason: Rethinking Another Classic of European Legal Doctrine

Ever since the Dassonville and Cassis de Dijon rulings, the ‘European’ rule of reason stands for the dilemma between EU norm imposition and requirements of general interest. It surfaces at various settings within EU law. The motto of the Union, ‘unified in diversity’, reflects the balance between (European) unity and (national) diversity that has to be struck at almost every field of Union activity, with different results at each instance.