Second question
The Commission observes that, as regards measures having an effect equivalent to customs duties on imports, the Court has already stated in its judgment in Joined Cases 52 and 55/65 (Germany ν Commission [1966] ECR 159) that, however small its discriminatory effect, such a measure is still caught by Article 13 (2). As far as measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions are concerned, the Commission refers to the fact that the Court has repeatedly emphasized the wide scope of Article 30 and to the wide definition of a measure having equivalent effect given in the judgment in Case 2/73 (Riseria Luigi Geddo ν Ente Nazionale Risi [1973] ECR 865, at p. 879).The Commission believes that in such a system there is no place for a de minimis rule whereby Article 30 would not be applied to an existing and ascertainable restrictive effect on imports because it was so slight. It must also be remembered that to define a slight effect is extremely difficult. Finally, the Commission points out that a total prohibition on retailers' practising any form of price competition can, by its very nature, rarely if ever have only a very slight effect on intra-Community trade, especially in the case of a consumer article which is widely distributed and on sale at thousands of outlets.
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