Within the EU the local jurisdiction can seek to demonstrate a legitimate public interest justification for the proportionate application of local rules on the basis of public interest grounds such as public health, environmental protection and the protection of consumers and workers. The IfG points out that UKIMA “has fewer and much more narrowly defined exemptions, and therefore places new constraints on the governments of the UK.”The UK Internal Market | Scottish Parliament Website
Professor McEwen and colleagues explain that within the mutual recognition principle for goods there “are very few permissible exceptions to the application of the market access principles and these relate to highly specific problems i.e. combating the spread of pests, diseases or unsafe foodstuffs, and even then, only under strictly controlled conditions.”Response 17405563 to The UK Internal Market - Scottish Parliament - Citizen Space
Professor Hunt told us that while there are similar free movement market access principles within the EU Single Market “they come with a much more developed set of grounds for justification as to why local choices might be able to be sustained within a wider market.”vOfficial Report (parliament.scot) Col.19 Professor Weatherill explained that the “core point is that the EU is more generous than the UK in accepting possible justification for local rules that obstruct trade.”vOfficial Report (parliament.scot) Col.19
The environment charity, Fidra, state that the market access principles “must include a provision that enables positive divergence for the public interest.”The UK Internal Market | Scottish Parliament Website In their view UKIMA “must not remove the opportunity for devolved administrations to make progressive environmental policy that serves as a case-study to drive up standards across the whole of the UK.”