Host state regulation is sometimes seen as hindering the single market, as firms need to be aware of 28 sets of national law.
It is also sometimes intended to free providers of goods and service from the obligation to accommodate multiple regulatory regimes when trading across borders from a single location.
[clarification needed] For example, if a sale of goods is made over the Internet from a website in France to a purchaser in Italy, the country of origin principle would be said to apply if French law applied to the transaction, and the country of reception principle if Italian law prevailed.
The provision underlying the four freedoms (and therefore also the Home Country Control) is the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality: Article 12 (ex 6) of the EC Treaty.
Over the course of years, this policy evolved to include prohibition on some behaviors that were non-discriminatory, based on the fact that their implementation created obstacles to trade between states.
The New Approach[clarification needed] consists of three important elements: and was based on prohibition of non-discriminatory obstacles to trade.
The only option for Britain to apply its law to this banking service is to justify it under the General Good test.