In addition to fiscal rules mentioned in other comments, an interesting case was the confiscation of face masks in spring 2020, i.e. blocking of free movement of goods inside EU. This was when we were desperately needing to have masks for use in hospitals. Germany took them in transit.

It wasn't only Germany, though; also France stopped shipments of masks to Sweden. And there were other cases in the big key member states.

https://www.svd.se/frankrike-beslagtar-masker-fran-svenskt-f...

Normally such freight would go via hubs in Germany, for instance; to avoid Germany confiscating masks, my country (Finland) hired planes to import masks directly from China, without using the hubs in Germany.

Germany and Italy recurrently ignore the Stability Pact rules, thereby threatening the fiscal and monetary stability of the region. But when you are Germany or Italy, no one will complain and no judge will chase you.

I had an Italian farmer explain the Italian attitude to rules and regulations 10ish years ago. His view was that breaking rules and regulations was a national pastime and seeing what you could get away with was part the fun.

That’s how he explained the popularity of Silvio Berlusconi too - “of course the guy is a cheat and a fraud, but he is cheating for us now”.

I’m unsure if these views were in any way representative but I found them interesting.