On 11 June 2009, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its decision in the case of Commission v. the Netherlands (C-521/07). The Commission had referred the Netherlands to the ECJ for not exempting dividends paid to companies established in certain EEA countries from withholding tax).

There was no opinion of the Advocate General in the case. The ECJ held that by not exempting dividends paid by Netherlands companies to companies established in Iceland or Norway from deduction at source of the tax on dividends under the same conditions as dividends paid to Netherlands companies or companies of other Member States of the Community, the Netherlands has failed to fulfill its obligations under Art. 40  EEA Agreement.