European Union – Freedom of establishment. Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be interpreted as precluding legislation of a member state under which the competent authorities could order a commissioning party established in that member state to suspend payments to his contractor established in another member state, or even to pay a security in an amount equivalent to the price still owed for the works in order to guarantee payment of the fine which might be imposed on that contractor in the event of a proven infringement of the labour law of the first member state. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in proceedings concerning the payment of sums claimed by the applicant company from the respondent pursuant to a contract for works.