The Development of EU Property Law

Abstract

European Union property law is a quickly developing field of law. By studying the European acquis communautaire we can see that the contours of a European system of property law have slowly been emerging through legislation that incorporates property law rules and terminology. However, at the moment, EU property law is still very fragmented and has for a long time not been rooted in any clear policy or legislative agenda. It is important to study and further develop this field of law because it is seriously out of step with the development of European contract law and because national rules of property law as they currently stand could and do cause hindrances to free movement within the European internal market. This article sketches the existing European legislation concerning property law and provides a proposal for its future development. It thereafter highlights the most recent developments in EU property law, showing that the European legislature, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), academics, and practitioners are all increasingly paying attention to this exciting and challenging new field of law.

Keywords: EU property law, European private law, European private international law, matrimonial property regimes, cross-border conveyancing

JEL Classification: K10, K11, K19