European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The request had been made in proceedings between X-Steuerberatungsgesellschaft (X) and the Hannover-Nord Tax Office; concerning the latter's refusal to accept X as the authorised representative of a company within the context of a turnover tax assessment procedure.