A European court ruling issued on May 21, 2026, removed a barrier that health and wellness brands regularly encounter when expanding into Central and Eastern European markets. The CJEU ruled in Case C-626/24 that the Czech Republic's prior notification requirement for food supplements breaches EU free movement law.

The Czech notification requirement had forced brands to obtain separate national approval before selling supplements already lawfully marketed in another EU member state. The court confirmed this practice restricts free movement and cannot be justified. Supplements that meet the rules of their home market can now be sold across the EU without being blocked at a national notification gate.

The ruling has direct practical implications for any brand whose EU expansion plan includes Central or Eastern European markets. These markets have historically applied stricter national notification requirements than Western Europe. The Czech ruling establishes a precedent: similar notification barriers in other EU member states face the same legal challenge. Brands that have been told they need a separate notification process to sell supplements into a new EU country should revisit that advice in light of this judgment.

The judgment aligns with Article 34 TFEU's fundamental principle: a product lawfully sold in one EU member state has the right to move freely to any other. That principle has always existed, but national regulators have often tested its limits. This ruling makes clear the limits apply to food supplements.

For brands entering the EU market for the first time, understanding which requirements are genuinely mandatory and which create unnecessary delay is exactly the kind of question Expandly's compliance team handles as part of market setup. Getting country-level requirements right from the start prevents blocks that stall your timeline.

The precedent is set. Supplements lawfully sold in one EU market have a legal basis to reach any other.