53Secondly, with regard to the severity of the fine provided for by the system of penalties at issue in the main proceedings, it is appropriate to recall the case-law cited in paragraphs 23 and 24 of the present judgment, according to which the Member States are empowered to choose the sanctions which seem to them to be appropriate. The Member States are, however, required to exercise that power in accordance with European Union law and its general principles, and consequently in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Measures imposing penalties must not, therefore, inter alia, exceed the limits of what is necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question or be disproportionate to those aims.
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