Judgment_paragraph 33 · Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic (C-260/04)

33In that regard it is for the competent national authorities to show, first, that their legislation addresses an essential interest within the meaning of Articles 45 and 46 EC or an overriding requirement relating to the general interest as laid down in the case-law and, second, that that legislation conforms to the principle of proportionality (see, to that effect, Case C-41/02 Commission v Netherlands [2004] ECR I-11375, paragraph 47; Case C-38/03 Commission v Belgium, not published in the ECR, paragraph 20, and Case C-255/04 Commission v France [2006] ECR I-5251, paragraph 29).